


That Girl

by KristannaFever



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kristanna, Modern AU, Smut, nineties au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2021-01-27 07:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21388105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristannaFever/pseuds/KristannaFever
Summary: Set in the early nineties, Anna is a wealthy socialite who wants to be anything but.  Kristoff is a line-cook at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.   When their paths cross it is love at first sight, but Anna's father is determined that she will uphold the family name and marry a wealthy suitor, leaving Anna with no other choice but to run away
Relationships: Anna & Kristoff (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**New York City ~ Early Nineties**

_“This is not how the daughter of an Arendelle acts.”_

How many times had she heard that in her life so far? How many more times must she hear it, before she can free herself?

Her life is full of those remarks. It seems like all she knows is rolled eyes, condescending speech, folded arms, huffs of exasperation and glaring stares.

She simply can’t ignore her heart. She can’t help that she would rather be dancing than attending lavish parties. She can’t help that she would rather lock herself in her expansive room and paint than have to sit through another board meeting. She can’t help that she would rather sing melodies in Central Park than have to talk to another stuck-up, self absorbed ‘suitor’.

She can’t help what she wishes she was born into any other life.

She thinks about running away. Almost every day. But she knows that without the feed of her father’s money that she will not get far. She tells herself that she only has to wait a year to have access to the fund that her parents are holding in trust until she is 21. She wonders if she can even last that long. She also wonders if they have made that age higher due to her recent indiscretions.

The older she gets, the more she finds that she is unable to accept the lifestyle she was born into. Her sister conforms so easily, holding up her air and grace effortlessly. Anna has to wonder why she is unable to do the same. Perhaps it is because her sister does not mind the tight leash that their father has put them on. Perhaps Elsa doesn’t even think its there.

Sometimes she thinks her mother understands her, then Anna does something deemed as embarrassing, there is a disappointing shake of the head, and Anna knows that even she doesn’t understand her. She fears that there is no one out there who ever will.

She lays awake at night on the eve before these big _events_ that her parents plan. She thinks about finding love. She thinks about finding someone in her world that is just like her, because she simply can’t be the_ only_ person of privilege to wish they were never part of it. Can she?

_Yeah right_, she tells herself, _They’re all the same._ She can see it in their eyes. The arrogance, the greed, the utter and complete selfishness. Even the staff of the manor look down at her. They think she is a spoiled brat. They look at her with animosity and she wondered what she ever did to deserve that. 

She is worried about the lavish ball. Her parents mentioned not once, or twice, but at least a dozen times, that there would be a lot of eligible, young, (rich) bachelors there who have interest in meeting her. The thought churns her stomach. 

She is bothered by the fact that they never push these self-absorbed suitors on Elsa. Anna knows better than to ask so she can only assume it is because they value Elsa and her career-driven nature. They know Anna is flighty and impulsive, why not just marry her off and be done with her.

Sometimes she likes to sneak away during the balls and find a quiet corner. Sometimes she excuses herself to the Ladies room and sits in one of the lavish stalls in silent contemplation, just so she can avoid all the questions.

They are never-ending, those questions. Her answers are always met with the same awkward _‘I see’_ and the eyes of her questioner always flick to her parents like they wonder what they did wrong to end up with a daughter like her.

*****

**SEPTEMBER 1991**

“Anna, this is ridiculous, hurry up.”

Anna rolls her eyes. She doesn’t want to go to the ball. She never wants to go to them. The only saving grace of the evening is that they are going to the Waldorf again. It’s Anna’s absolute favorite place to be when they throw a ball.

“Do you need a hand with your dress?”

Her mother is hovering at the door. Anna can hear the impatient tapping of her foot. She gets up, knowing that it is enough torture for one day. She’s been ready for an hour but she’s been hiding in hopes that they would simply leave without her. A silly notion that she knows is much too far-fetched to ever happen.

She opens the door and her mother doesn’t smile and greet her. She simply looks her up and down.

“Why isn’t your hair up?”

“I thought braids would look cute with this dress,” she says, knowing that her mother is going to ask her to take them out.

She does, then her mother helps her pile her hair on top of her head in a tight bun that pulls uncomfortably at her scalp. It’s going to give her a headache. It always does.

She follows unsmiling to the car where her father and Elsa are waiting. They are talking business. They always talk business and when Anna enters the car they stop. Like she even cares. Still, it hurts that they would do that. 

Her family begins to talk about who will be in attendance while Anna’s eyes shift out the window. She loses herself in the sights of the city. She wonders, with every person she sees, what they are doing tonight. Will they be eating dinner with their families? Going on a date? Walking their dog? Fighting? Making love? Mourning? Celebrating?

Maybe some of them will dance and sing and paint. Maybe some of them have to attend things they don’t want to. The difference is, she is willing to bet that they can retreat to their homes or safe places when their unpleasantness is over and start to feel themselves again in their familiar comfort. 

Not Anna. Nothing in her life is comfortable. She never feels like herself.

She sees a father carrying his small son on his shoulders down the street while the mother walks beside them holding hands with their daughter. They are all smiling. A perfect happy family.

Anna’s heart aches.

They seem poorly dressed. Maybe they live in a tiny apartment. Maybe they are barely just making ends meet. Maybe the young-looking parents both work two jobs so they can provide food and shelter and give their kids things they didn’t have when they were growing up. 

While she is wearing a quarter of a million dollars worth of diamonds.

She hears her name said sharply and she realizes that her father was talking to her but she was not paying attention. 

“Anna,” he says again with that ever-present impatience. “The Westergaards are going to be in attendance tonight, as I’ve mentioned. They have recently moved their offices here from San Francisco and their youngest son is about your age. I would ask that you make a date with him to show him around the city.”

“Yes father.”

He eyes her closely before nodding. He seems done with her. His attention turns back to Elsa and they start to talk business again. Her mother is doing something on her electronic organizer. The driver has the privacy screen up.

Anna might as well be alone in the car.

*****

He gives her the creeps right away. She tires not to outwardly cringe when he bends over and kisses the top of her hand. She holds in her feelings and smiles at him politely, indulging him in the most boring conversation she has had of late, while she surreptitiously starts to look for an exit.

Unable to endure him any longer, she excuses herself when he is mid-sentence. “Have to visit the Ladies room,” she says quickly and turns to walk away before he has a chance to respond. 

She suspects he is watching her, but she doesn’t care. She just has to get out. She makes a b-line for the doors to the ball room and slips into the hall, taking a sharp turn before the grand staircase and quickly stepping through a discreet door marked STAFF, into the service hallway. This isn’t her first time slipping out of the Waldorf proper.

She navigates the halls like she is supposed to be there. No one questions her. Someone in her finery with a purpose to her walk is never questioned. Celebrities and people wished not to be seen, used the service halls to avoid cameras. Her presence is certainly not out of place.

She comes up to the place where she knows the kitchen staff like to hang out after a hard day’s work. She likes to be around them. They are real people. They smile and laugh all the time. They smoke cigarettes and tell jokes and swear. Some of them know her. A few of them scoff at her, but she’s used to that. She just ignores them just as they have come to ignore her.

She finds them in the familiar smoke-filled break room. She always likes to hang out with the ones just coming off their shift before the big ball. The ones working tonight are being barked at and worked harder than they ever have in their lives.   
_Anything for the Arendelles.  
Only the best for the Arendelles._

Most of them tonight know her and give her friendly nods and happy greetings. It is more than simply tolerating her being there. A lot of them like it when she is there. She always laughs at their jokes and takes the offer of whatever smoke they happen to be passing around, or cigarette packs waved in her direction. There always seems to be a friendly face to light it for her. 

She walks further into the back-room space and inhales all the smells. They have brought up tray full of lunch items that would otherwise have ended up in the dumpster outside. She was told that they do this often; that the people running the kitchen frown upon it, but the chefs let it slide. Of course, she thinks, that they would rather their hard-prepared food get eaten than simply be thrown away.

There’s a huge pot full of stew that people are ladling into Styrofoam cups and sipping from. Anything they can grab to make it easier on themselves. Why bother having to clean a bunch of bowls and spoons when you can drink it from a cup.

Suddenly a small friendly face pops up in front of her and passes her a plastic cup of beer.

“Anna! It’s nice to see you again!” she talks loudly over the volume of the boom box in the corner.

Anna leans over and hugs the small brunette woman to her chest. She hugs her back, pulling her further in, ignoring the fact that their breasts are pressing together. It is friendly and comforting, unlike the stiff hugs she receives almost as a courtesy from her mother and sister.

“It’s nice to see you again too, Celine,” Anna says as they pull apart and look each other with warm smiles. “Is Franklin here too?”

Celine smiles jovially at the mention of her boyfriend’s name. “He got stuck working tonight, the poor boy,” she says before her eyes widen slightly as if she just now realized who she was talking to. 

Anna understands more than Celine will ever know. She puts her friend at ease. “Oh, the poor soul indeed. It is an insufferable bunch tonight. I hope he can keep his sanity by the time the dinner is done.”

Celine laughs. “Is that why you’re down here so early this evening?”

Anna gives her a wry smile in return. “Indeed.”

Celine grabs her by the arm and drags her to a couple of seats near where there is table of people playing poker while she regales her with the stories of everyone from the last time Anna had been there a month ago. She laughs and hangs on every exciting word, hearing about how John’s grandmother won a small sum in the lottery and used it to help him pay rent for an apartment, how Stacy’s brother finally went into rehab, how Orville’s cancer scare turned out to be benign, and how Thomas finally asked his long-time boyfriend to move in with him.

Anna is still smiling when Celine takes off to visit the Ladies room and gets up to fetch herself a refill of beer for her cup. She takes to her feet and turns towards the keg when she sees him across the crowd. He is looking at her like she is the only person in the room, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide with admiration. There is no mistaking that he is looking at her. He is tall, blond and so broad, he looks slightly out of place. Anna has never seen him before. He is _very _handsome.

As soon as he realizes that she is looking back at him, he moves, never breaking his gaze. Their eyes are locked. He pulls his impressive bulk off the wall he was leaning against and approaches slowly, stopping in front of her close enough that he is at the very cusp of her personal bubble.

She is suddenly lost in beautiful brown eyes. They are wide and unflinching. Time slows and she almost thinks she can see herself in his pupils when he finally snaps out of it, blinking quickly.

“Wow,” he breathes. “You… are… stunning.”

Anna feels her cheeks break out in heat. “You aren’t too bad yourself,” she says, not entirely sure where the words are coming from. She’s never been so forthcoming with a man before. Her upbringing was to show the demure respect of a proper lady. 

A blush takes to his cheeks and Anna is instantly enamored with him. Still, she knows how fake people can be in her presence. She has seen it too many times, has heard too many comments behind her back to believe that anyone would be genuine with such a statement. Before he has a chance to speak, Anna asks him what she needs to know. 

“So, is it the jewels? The hair and makeup? The dress?” She tilts her head and bats her eyelashes to look coy. 

His brow furrows slightly, not understanding.

“What did you notice first?” she clarifies and throws in a giggle for good measure. “What do you find so _stunning_.” 

His eyes suddenly travel her length, like he hadn’t even noticed what she was wearing. When he meets her eyes again, she is shocked at his look of confusion. 

“Your smile,” he says slowly, scanning her eyes. “Your smile is what I noticed first. It lights up the room.”

It is Anna’s turn to blush. She opens her mouth to offer a thank you when he speaks again.

“And then I noticed your eyes. Your eyes themselves are stunning. And your beautiful freckles and the wonderful shade of your hair,” he shrugs and shakes his head, unable to tear his gaze away. “I just noticed you. I apologize for not noticing your dress. It is very pretty on you.”

Her heart is starting to hammer in her chest. He is not lying. She has been around enough men to know. There is no time to process this information as he grabs her hand and pulls her forward. She lets him lead her to the corner as he tucks them beside the Keg. He leans in close. She half thinks that he is going to try and kiss her or something, when he explains.

“It’s quieter over here.”

Anna realizes that he’s right. The boom box is in the opposite corner now and she doesn’t have to strain to hear anymore.

“What is your name, pretty lady?” he asks with an eager smile.

“Anna. And what is yours, handsome fellow?”

He smiles even wider. “Kristoff.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Kristoff,” she giggles and offers her hand for him to shake.

He looks down at it a second, before he grabs her palm and turns the back of her hand to the ceiling. He then leans over and places his lips to her skin. It hits her, how unlike the gesture is from meeting Hans earlier. Kristoff’s kiss to the back of her hand is pleasant, soft and above all else, respectful. It makes her warm inside.

Kristoff lets his lips linger on her skin for just a half a second, looking up through his eyelashes at her. 

“The pleasure, is all mine,” he says, before he straightens back to his full height.

Anna blinks, feeling fluttery looking at his bedroom eyes. She suddenly imagines kissing him, a little shocked with herself.

“Escaping the party upstairs?” he says by way of initiating a conversation.

“You could say that,” she smiles, not wanting to offer any more about it at the moment. She is thankful that he apparently couldn’t care less to talk about it. 

“Usually I have to work these fancy balls, but I just got a bit of a promotion. Now I get to party at night instead.”

“You are a chef?” 

He laughs. “No, not yet. Just a line-cook still, but I hope to work my way up. I’ve got my eyes on a Sous Chef position.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

“What do you do?”

Anna plasters on her fake smile. She’s good at that. “I am on a board of directors for a big Media Corporation here in New York.”

“Sounds boring.” 

“You have no idea,” she laughs genuinely while she hides the shock at his comment. She has been waiting her entire life for someone to talk to her as freely as he is.

“What do you do for fun then Anna?” He leans closer to her and she can feel his breath on her cheek. 

“I like to paint, or draw. I like to dance and I like to sing. That’s what makes me happy.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“What about you? What do you do for fun?”

“Cook. I love cooking. I also bake. My mother taught me how.”

“And what else?” Anna asks, wanting more. Needing more.

“I like to read.”

“Me too.”

“What is your favorite book?”

“Pride and Prejudice.” 

He laughs. “I definitely see you as a romantic.”

She can’t hide her shock. “You… you’ve read, Pride and Prejudice?”

“What? Don’t think a lowly line-cook would have any interest in a literary classic? You think my idea of reading is burying my nose in a comic book?”

She knows that he is joking by the way he flashes all his teeth at her. She finds a very easy smile in return, suddenly temped to test him. “How about Moby Dick?” She askes.

“Call me Ishmael.”

“Pffft. Everyone knows that line.”

His gaze never falters. “There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.”

Anna can’t believe her ears. She wants to ask him so many questions, yet the desire to test him further takes over. She picks a line from another classic book that she knows. 

“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”

His answer is immediate. “To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee.”

Anna rolls her eyes to the ceiling in thought. She needed to stump him. “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor.”

His eyes blaze wide and she feels it shoot all the way down her spine. 

“That is my favorite poem,” he breathes.

“Mine too,” she says automatically, lost in the depth of his beautiful brown eyes. She suddenly feels way too hot. Who is this man? Who is Kristoff? She can’t even fathom someone like him. He is intelligent. He is gorgeous. He is working in a kitchen for a living. 

He is unlike anyone she has ever met. 

They talk more on literature and their favorite authors before moving into music. She never dreamed she could have so much in common with someone. As time moves on and their conversation deepens to more intimate knowledge about themselves, Anna realizes that she is enchanted with him. He has swept her off her feet. She suddenly feels that she will not be able to have a future if he is not in it.

She opens her mouth to tell him her feelings when there is a commotion at the door. She hears her fathers voice before she sees him. She does not need to see his face to know he is furious. It is in every inflection of his tone. He is demanding to know where she is. The crowd parts involuntarily in his wake.

Except Kristoff. He moves in front of Anna to protect her. He has no idea that the angry man is her father. He has no idea who he is in the presence of. All he knows, is that there is an angry man shouting for her, and Kristoff will not let him get to her without his consent. She can barely think on this before her father is getting in Kristoff’s face.

Anna knows she would have laughed had it not been for the severity of the situation. Her father is trying his best to stare down who would stand in the way of his daughter, even though he is looking up at Kristoff’s full height. Somehow, he is able to make her father look rather meek, when she has always thought of him as strong and commanding. In comparison to Kristoff’s stature, he looks like a small man, even though he is not.

“What is the meaning of this?” Her father demands.

Kristoff does not flinch. “Meaning of what?” he says, as if he is already tired of the conversation.

“Kindly step aside so that I may retrieve my foolish daughter and leave you to your-“ Anna watches as his eyes sweep around the room in disgust, settling firmly back on Kristoff’s face with a sneer of his nose. “To your… whatever _this _is.”

His voice is dripping with distain. 

Anna suddenly sees Kristoff’s fist ball at his side. Her father does not notice. It is better that way. She steps around the big blond man to accept her fate before a blow can be thrown. The last thing in the world she wants is for any harm to come upon the sweet man that is now behind her. It is not his fault after all that her family’s demanding presence has come upon him this evening. It is hers.

She stands in front of her father until he has the decency to meet her eyes. “I will come father. Please let these people be. It was I who sought them out, not the other way around.”

His eyes roll back into his head and she can feel Kristoff press himself against her back. Anna reaches behind her ever so subtly and places a palm on the side of his thigh to stay him. He obeys, but she can feel how tense his muscles are below the skin and cloth.

“How many times must we go through this Anna? I will not have you fraternalizing with the likes of _these people_.”

His words are harsh. She turns to make sure that Kristoff will not try and defy her father further, surprised to see that in addition to his defiance, there is a tiredness in his eyes. She realized that he has been treated as such before. Treated like he was less than.

Her father reaches down and grabs her forearm to drag her away. She relents easily; it isn’t the first time. This time instead of a shameful down-cast stare, she cannot break from Kristoff’s gaze as she is pulled from the room. There is a promise in his beautiful brown eyes, that somehow, he will see her again. She can only hope that her eyes convey the same promise as she is lead through the doorway and out of sight. 

*****

“Honestly Anna. What has gotten into you lately? I can’t turn my back on you for a second without worrying where you are off to and who you’ve offended. I am only too glad that Hans expressed his concern after he noticed you enter the servant hallways.”

“_Service_ hallways. They are _not _servants.”

“There is no difference.”

Anna knows by his tone that she better shut her mouth lest she end up being given another long lecture. She remains tight-lipped, waiting for the final blow.

“I am just glad that young Westergaard had the mind to watch after you, or I might have never known where you had gone off to. I will not have this happen again, Anna. Do you understand?”

She cannot meet his eyes, still she nods all the same.

Her father huffs his reaffirmation that he is right and turns his attention to his electronic organizer. Her mother and Elsa have already been on their silly devices since her father started laying into her on the ride back to their massive penthouse, choosing to distance themselves from yet another _problem with Anna_. She briefly wonders how many things in their lives need organizing to constantly be on those stupid little things. 

She holds back the tears. She will not shed them in their presence. She will wait until she is locked safely in her room, then she will let it all out, silent, heart wrenching, and lonely.

None of them wish her goodnight. They simply retreat to her father’s den to have a snifter of liquor before bed without a word and she is left standing at the bottom of the steps. She blinks as she hears them start to speak. They are talking about business as she hears the clink of fancy crystal being filled with the caustic liquid. Yet another thing that she has been unable to embrace. Why she preferred the simple bitterness of a cheap beer or wine to the rich, complicated flavors of a couple hundred-dollar bottle of spirits, she would never understand.

She is a little surprised, as she closes herself into the only space that is hers, that the tears do not come. Instead she finds that she is thinking of the back-rooms of the Waldorf, of cinnamon eyes and a devastating smile, of blond hair like the sun and a voice like an angel.

She is thinking of how she can see him again.

*****

A slow week passes. Agonizingly slow.

She obediently attends the board meetings, even though they ignore her presence. She goes to the dinners, even though whenever she tires to enter the conversation, she is talked over. She sits with her mother and her friends for tea, despite the judging sideways glances at the rumours going around about her.

She simply cannot win.

She thinks about Kristoff constantly. She wonders what he is doing, how he lives, who his family and friends are, if he is happy, if her thinks about her as much as she thinks about him…

It isn’t healthy, she knows, to be so consumed by something…. By someone. She has been told many times that her mind always needs to be thinking about the broader horizons and not hold focus on one simple thing, even thought that’s all she’s been able to do all her life.

She can’t deny her heart this time. That is something she has never been able to do. She knows that she will never be able to.

Therefore, she thinks of a way to give her heart what it wants and tells her father on the Friday a week after the _incident, _that she would like to have dinner with Hans as an apology and to show him around the city. Her father nods and smiles and she can see the hope in his eyes that she is finally coming around. It makes her sick. 

Word gets back to her later that evening. Her father tells her that Hans would be delighted to see her the next night at seven in the President’s Club lounge. Anna fakes a smile and mentions that she would like to spend the afternoon shopping and making sure she has the right outfit. He does not question her. He passes her a credit card and tells her to make sure she is presentable of the Arendelle name, then waves her out of his office.

Her mother is even easier. Anna tells her that she would like to stay in the hotel the night before so that she can have a calming breakfast and prepare herself properly for her dinner with Hans, learning his lineage and making sure they have adequate things to talk about. Her mother doesn’t bat an eye. She simply indulges her daughter that it is a fantastic idea, then arranges the car to come and pick her up.

Anna walks calmly up to her room despite wanting to run. She throws everything she can think of into an overnight bag, including the pair of jeans, sneakers and plain V-neck sweater that no one even knows she owns. Then she makes sure that she has enough of her fancy clothes on top to make it look like she is sincere.

She tucks in the last few things that she cannot stand to never see again, hiding them as careful as her causal clothes. Her dog-eared copies of Pride and Prejudice and the collections of Edgar Allen Poe, an antique silver mirror that her Grandmother gave her, and her childhood teddy bear. It gives her pause, to realize that there is so little that she will miss when she is gone.

She comes down the steps just as her mother is explaining to her father where Anna is intending to go. There is mistrust in his eyes. Anna offers him a smile that she hopes is reassuring and he seems to buy it. Perhaps mostly because her mother is telling him what is happening like it was her own idea for Anna to prepare so thoroughly. 

She laughs to herself at how predictable they are. As powerful as they think they might be, they could be played as easily as they enjoyed manipulating other people.

As the car pulls away she tries not to let the smile overtake her face, lest the driver report of it. She simply sits and looks around with a purpose, like she has seen her sister do. She exits the car at her stop with an air about her that she is attending to business and nothing else.

The bellboy brings her bag up to her room and she tips him a fifty with a yawn like she has seen her father do a million times. Then she is finally left in solitude. She does not hesitate.

She is in her jeans and sweater and heading down the elevator to seek out the service hallway faster than she even knows what is happening. Celine isn’t there to greet her, but that is not who she is looking for. She offers polite smiles to all the friendly greetings, not wanting to ignore them but still needing to seek the one person she is there to see. She goes through the whole room that way, trying to find him, until she reaches the far corner and understands that he is not there.

She turns around in defeat when she is suddenly blocked by a mountain.

She looks up and gasps when she meets the eyes that she has longed to see again. He does not offer any words. Instead, he blindly reaches for her hand as he holds her gaze. A squeeze of her palm in his asks her to trust him. She does, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

He nods and leads her from the room with his hand gently grasping hers. He looks back every so often as he navigates the hallways to smile at her and her heart leaps in her chest every time. 

He leads her through the front of the impossibly noisy kitchen before she finds that they are outside in the crisp air of night. The city has its own backdrop. She can hear people, horns honking, far-off sirens and millions of people going about the business of living.

All the noise falls away as she stares into the depth of his eyes. She suddenly realizes that he has her pushed against the wall of the building, leaning over her, his forearm against the brick above her head, bracing himself. He offers her a lopsided smile.

“I dreamt about you,” he says.

“And I of you,” she offers, wondering why the words come out that way. She feels almost as if she has lost herself in time; that perhaps she has stumbled into an alternate universe where she is not bound by her last name.

_Last name…_

The sudden need is immense and she asks him what his is.

“Bjorgman,” he replies.

Simple. And yet not. She rolls if off her tongue, testing the way it sounds… the way it tastes…

She likes it. More than she can possibly understand. She says it over and over until he pressed his lips to hers to quiet her. She relents immediately, relishing in the warmth of his mouth on her own. He does not press. She knew he wouldn’t. Unlike all the kisses she had received in the past, his comes with respect. 

He pulls back slowly. Anna opens her eyes to see his hooded gaze staring down at her. She is struck by the reality of it; that this is _exactly _what she wanted when she planned to see him again, not knowing if he would even be in that smoky back room. She had just hoped, she had _wished_ that he would be there, and he was.

She knows in an instant that she would never be able to go back. She is done. No matter what becomes of her, she can never go back to their scrutiny, their imprisonment, the fact that they would believe that the beautiful human being in front of her is less than them.

She leans against his chest and he pulls her tighter against his body, as if he could feel what she was thinking. Perhaps he was.

Without a word she pulls from his embrace and grabs him by the hand. It is her turn now to drag him where she wants and she takes him up to her suite. After tomorrow, she knows she will not have it. By then her family will have discovered her deception and be on the look out for her.

But that is a problem for another time. All she needs this night, is him.

*****

He looks around in awe, holding her hand lightly as she pulls him through the luxurious space. She might have wondered how he can work in the same building and have no idea that such a suite existed, but she knows better.

The people that have seen the suite they are in, were all people with exceeding wealth. The room alone is more than she would like to admit a night, more than a lot of people made in a half a year. Perhaps an entire year for others.

The thought makes her stomach roll, and not for the first time.

Kristoff turns to her and his expression was one she did not expect. “Why me?”

He asks so honestly that she cannot hold back her emotion. “Because you are you,” tears well in her eyes and she hopes he can see the truth there.

He seems to. He pulls her gently to his chest and plants a kiss on her forehead. 

“I would sell my soul to be able to ease the pain in your eyes.”

His words hurt her, despite their intent, and she breaks down. He catches her, scooping her easily into his arms while he shushes her cries and carries her to the bed, gently placing her upon it.

He is quick to walk around and scrambles on the large expanse of mattress to settle beside her, snuggling her into his chest as he lays on his back and pulls her even closer to his side. She looks to his face to see a half-smile as he stares at the ceiling, before he rubs a calming palm up and down her arm.

She feels the pull her soul has to his and she spills herself to him. She admits her fears and her deepest secrets. She says everything she has ever wanted to say in a lifetime to this beautiful stranger while he listens and holds her, until she is so exhausted that she feels herself falling asleep as she tries to ramble on and on.

The last thing she knows is his sad smile as his face turns towards hers as he presses his lips to her cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

Anna wakes alone in the lavish hotel room that her father has paid for. It takes her a minute to remember the previous nights events and all that she has spilled from her mouth. She has a moment of panic, wondering if she has scared him off, when she hears a toilet flush and the running of water in a sink.

She cannot fight her smile. She knows he sees it as soon as she feels the mattress shift under his weight and he whispers “Good afternoon.”

She is not surprised that it is already the afternoon; she had talked late into the night. She is surprised however, that when she opens her eyes Kristoff’s face is solemn. Worried.

“I want you to come and stay with me,” he says with thinly veiled sternness, like he expects her to protest in some way.

The weight of his words slowly sinks in and Anna realizes just exactly what, and how much, that she had admitted to him. How could she have been so impetuous? So careless? So reckless? This is exactly what her family warned her about. How many times had they told her that her scattered mind and her thoughtless mouth could get her in trouble? 

How many times had she been told to be someone she wasn’t?

Her rampant thoughts come to a stop when she realizes she doesn’t need to think that way about herself anymore. She is fully in charge of her own actions now. No more pretending. No more faking. She is free to be herself and no one else. 

Anna smiles. It is the easiest smile she has ever known. She has followed her heart and it led her to Kristoff. He was going to save her, just as she hoped that he would.

“I will,” she tells him as he waits with concern. “If you will have me, I will stay.”

“I will have you any way I can get you,” he responds. She understands that it does not carry the innuendo that it could be misconstrued for. It is a simple statement. A fact.

They get out of bed and Anna grabs her unpacked bag and follows his lead. They are out of the hotel and out on the streets of New York in no time. He leads her a way she does not know, then down from the level of honking cars to the subway below. He pulls out a card from his pocket and is about to take her through the turn style before he realizes that she does not have a metro pass. He does not ask her for payment, instead he digs into his pocket and produces enough change that she can get through. The meaning is not lost on her. No matter what or where she came from, he knows that she has left it with nothing. It’s all in his eyes as he drags her through the turnstile; she is with him now and he will take care of her. He will provide.

He pulls her to his side as they silently wait for a train. She looks across the platforms to the other people standing there and she wonders what their lives hold. Are they New Yorkers? Are they visitors? She has heard tales that tourists are easy to spot, but having spent no time on the streets she has no way of knowing how to see them.

A train arrives and Kristoff pulls her onto it, settling his grip on a loop above their heads and pulling her close to his body with his other hand. She does not expect the jolt when they take off and she falls into his chest. He steadies her with a smile on his face as if he knew exactly what was going to happen. She finds a strange comfort in that as she watches her surroundings. She doesn’t want to tell him this was the first time she has ever ridden a subway train, but she has a strong feeling that he already knows.

The stops become brightly lit and clean, to brightly lit and a little dirty, to brightly lit and downright old looking. It seems that the further they got from Manhattan, that the worse the subway stations became. She steals glances at Kristoff’s face, but he is staring off with a smile of quiet contemplation. She only knows where they are by the subway announcements.

They are in the heart of the Bronx.

He leads her out onto the platform that is above the street. She had no idea that the trains even left the underground. Here she was, walking down the steps onto the streets with her hero taking her somewhere she was a stranger to in more ways than one.

He leads her to a building and uses his key to get them inside to the elevator. He presses a button for the forth floor and they ride up with the light blinking in and out and the little box smelling like something she did not want to think about.

His smile never leaves his face, even as he pulls her into his apartment.

She has no idea how anyone could live in such a tiny area. She sees a kitchen, a beat-up couch with a television on a stand, and a bed. There is a door to her right that she can only hope is a washroom. She shudders at the thought of having to use a communal one at the end of the hall like she has heard about in some buildings.

He strides ahead of her undeterred and opens the fridge to produce two bottles of beer. He turns to her and his smile instantly puts her at ease. She takes off her shoes, even though he didn’t, and pads on socked feet to him to take the offered drink.

He does not speak of their discussions the previous night. Instead he offers to hear about her childhood. She has a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach thinking about her family, so she asks him to tell her about his instead.

He does.

She hears about his hardships, she hears about his struggles and she feels them to her core even though she cannot relate. She does not understand how hard life for an immigrant can be, having grown up with everything she could ever want. She struggles to comprehend the fact that his parents were homeless for a time. She can’t fathom living on the streets, out in the cold and the elements and begging for money.

She can’t understand and yet Kristoff is talking about it like it is no big deal. 

They drink the beers, then another, and another. When they are finished the six pack, he pours them each a shot of whiskey that they sip on. Anna feels the heat of the alcohol in her cheeks and she can see the blush reflected in Kristoff’s face. Her mind is fuzzy and happy as they continue to talk.

He asks her suddenly if she wants to go to bed. She shudders in pleasure at the thought of his request, until she notices the exhaustion behind his eyes. Unlike her, he works for a living, and he works hard. She nods and he leads her silently to the bed that is only a few feet away from the table. He opens his closet and pulls something out, a t-shirt with a faded logo on it, and asks her if she would be okay sleeping in it until he can get her some proper pajamas.

His sentiment hits her hard and she collapses into his arms, shaking and sobbing and apologizing. 

She wishes then that she had taken something. That she had stolen something from her parents that was worth money so that she could sell it and not burden Kristoff in the way that she has. But as he holds her closer and tells her that everything will be okay, she understands that it is not a burden to him. She understands in the way that his head leans down and his mouth presses against her neck that she is not a burden. He wants her there. He wants to be with her. To be around her. He wants to hear what she has to say, and he wants to listen when she talks. 

Her knees give out again and he pulls her as easily into his arms as before. She has to chide herself on doing that to him again. Still, she cannot help but smile at the fact that for the first time in her entire life, there is someone there to catch her when she falls. 

And fall she does. She falls in love with him all over again as he lays her on the bed and plants a soft kiss on her lips, looking down at her until she nods that she is okay. She falls in love with him again as he places the shirt he had picked from his closet beside her head and mutters that he will get her some water. She falls in love with him again for the fact that he has enough respect not to turn around, even after he has filled her glass, knowing that she is still changing. She falls in love with him again at the soft look in his face when he turns around after she walks up to him and places a palm gently on his shoulder. 

She tiptoes to kiss him and he pulls her up to his lips with a gentle sigh. He does not let the kiss last. He stares into her eyes and asks if she will sleep with him.

The request is not sexual in nature, even though they both feel the pull. It is simply what he thinks that she wants and she has to wonder how someone she barely knows can understand her more than her own family.

They fall asleep, tangled in each other’s embrace, while the noise and commotion of the city went unnoticed around them.

*****

Anna wakes to an empty bed and the smell of coffee. She lifts her head and looks around the small space, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes and locate him. She spots his wonderful back side, buried in the fridge before he straightens with something in his hand.

She falls back in bed and rests as she listens to him move around. A sizzle of meat from the stove, a fridge being opened again, eggs being cracked, a fork in a bowl, a toaster popping and then the sound of liquid hitting a hot pan.

She lifts herself slowly back up to watch him. She never knew someone could smile so much while cooking. All the times she has spent escaping her reality in the kitchens of her father’s home, she has never seen anyone smile. In that moment she realizes that it was because they were working for her family, and that as cold as her parents and sister are to her, they are probably ten times as worse to the staff.

He stirs what was on the stove before reaching into his fridge, then produces a tiny block of cheese that he grates over the eggs before he snaps the heat off on the stove. He pulls the sizzling bacon off the other pan onto paper-toweled plate as more toast pops up from the toaster.

He moves to grab it and suddenly notices her watching him. The smile that spreads across his face is everything she has ever needed in her life. She was right to follow her heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Kristoff has to go to work and Anna doesn’t know what she should do. She offers to go with him and see him to work, then she remembers that is where she had failed to show up to her arranged date with the Westergaard. She will be unable to return to the Walldorf for a while. 

She thinks about the credit card in her purse. Her father has likely cancelled it already, no use in even trying to use it. She wonders idly how mad he is. She can almost see his face turning red with rage. Her mother is probably doubling up on her pills and her sister is probably shaking her head with a roll of her eyes.

She sees Kristoff to the door of his apartment. He promises to get her a key cut before he returns home, then kisses her lips softly before turning away and calling over his shoulder that he will be back as soon as he can.

She wishes again that she would have taken something to sell. One of the necklaces, or rings, so that she could repay Kristoff in some way for saving her. Yet the more she thinks about it the more she realizes that she wouldn’t want to use her father’s money anyway. She wants to make her own money. She wants to make her own way in her new life.

The morning is spent cleaning his apartment. His already tidy place is spotless when she is finished by the stroke of noon.

Her stomach growls with hunger. She goes into his fridge to see what he has and frowns at the contents. He has a few condiments and a container of takeout, but not much else. He doesn’t even have milk. Back at her family’s penthouse, the massive double door fridge that is almost as big as Kristoff’s entire kitchen, is packed with anything she could ever dream of.

It strikes her again to realize how she used to live. She used to think it was normal. Now she realizes now that _this_ is normal. Kristoff’s apartment and the fact that his fridge is empty, is normal. It is not normal to have caviar and champagne always stocked for anytime a whim strikes.

She opens the cupboard above the fridge and finds a couple containers of cup-o-noodles. She makes one for herself with water boiled form a kettle on his little stove, peeking in a couple kitchen drawers as she waits for the soup to cook and finding a typical junk drawer. There is a pad of lined paper and a dull pencil. It is enough to occupy her for the afternoon.

She eats the soup as she starts to sketch things. She stars with her current view, looking down the narrow alley with a brick building on the other side that is so close she imagines she would not have to lean very far out the window to touch it. Then she sketches him, using her memory to guide her hand. She can’t help but sketch herself beside him, and when she is done, she uses one of the magnets on the fridge to place her quick art.

She can’t remember ever having an entire afternoon to do what she wanted without having to fret over getting ready for some fancy or boring _thing_. She starts to sing as she sketches some more.

Later she lays on the couch and waits for him while she lets her mind wander. It isn’t until she feels warm lips on her own that she realizes that she had fallen asleep.

Kristoff pulls back and his face is as dreamy as she remembers it from laying next to him in bed. She is suddenly aware of the heat building between her legs and she has never been happier that she had not gotten familiar with anyone before. She always wanted her first time to be special - to mean something - and she realizes as she looks into his beautiful eyes, that Kristoff is exactly what she has been waiting for.

She curls her fingers in his hair and pulls him back down to meet her lips. She parts her lips, testing him by sliding her tongue into his mouth. He is quick to reciprocate. His mouth becomes hungry on hers and his hands curl under her, lifting her off the couch and taking her over to his bed.

He lays her down and crawls over her, leaving her lips to kiss her neck. Anna shudders under his affection before his lips are back on hers and she is ready to lose herself with him. She wants it so badly. She pulls back and looks into his questioning eyes.

“Will you make love to me, Kristoff? Please?”

She can see his hesitation. She brings up her palm and places it on his chest in reassurance. Suddenly he is kissing her again, only softer this time. Tender and meaningful.

He breaks from her to stand up and remove his shirt. Anna watches his every movement with her bottom lip pinched in her teeth. Before he can lean back over and kiss her again, she reaches down and undoes the button on her jeans, wiggling out of them and letting them fall to the floor.

His gaze wanders up her bare legs before he settles on her eyes again. “Anna, are you sure you want to-“

She grabs the bottom of her sweater and pulls it over her head. His voice drops off as he realizes she is in nothing but her underwear on his bed. She wants to be naked for him but she also want’s him to be the one to remove her underwear. 

He is still standing there letting his gaze wander over her body. It takes a moment before he snaps himself out of whatever trans he was in, then answers her unspoken request by undoing his belt and pulling down the zipper on his jeans. His pants fall at his ankles and she can see his arousal straining against his boxers.

He slowly leans over, bracing himself over her and his head bobs down to kiss her stomach. He makes his way up as she squirms under his touch. He kisses between the swell of her breasts and she suddenly needs to be rid of her bra. He seems to understand even though she never speaks, as his hands slide under her back. She lifts herself so that he can undo the clasp, then he gently pulls the garment off of her.

She feels dizzy in his gaze. He kisses every inch of her bare breasts as she feels his stiff length pressed against her leg. Her core pulses with anticipation. He finds her lips again before she breaks the kiss, unable to wait any longer.

“I need you Kristoff. Please, make love to me.”

He answers by straightening to take off his underwear. He ignores her surprised reaction in favor of gently sliding off the last piece of clothing that is preventing her from being bare.

A silent moment to appreciate each other passes and she shifts herself fully onto the bed as he crawls over her. He takes his time, gently caressing her body while his mouth remains pressed to hers. His gentle touch ventures down until is palm is curling around to her inner thigh and up towards her centre. Unable to control herself, Anna lets out a whimper of her anticipation when his fingers trace slowly up her aching desire. Then all of the sudden there is lighting shooting through her entire body. Anna gasps at the sensation as Kristoff rubs his fingertips over her clit. It is so much better than anytime she has ever given herself that specific release. Being touched by someone else - by him… it is beyond anything she has ever imagined. She feels like she could come at any moment. Several seconds later, she does, and she is left panting and wanting him more than she has ever wanted anything in her entire life.

“Please, Kristoff,” she begs. “Make love to me.”

He shifts, then she feels his cock pressing gently against her opening. 

She wants this so much that she feels she might lose her mind, but she does need to warn him first. It wouldn’t be fair if he didn’t know. She pulls from his lips to look at him. “Will you, go slow? I… have never done this before.”

His eyes fly open in shock and she can see all of the sudden that he is afraid. Not about the act of love itself, but of the fact that she is giving him her virginity. She can see he is afraid to take it, afraid that she will regret it. It is written all over his face. 

He opens his mouth to speak but Anna cannot bear to hear him utter the words. “Please, Kristoff. I have been waiting my whole life for you.”

“Anna, I can’t! I’m not-“

“Kristoff.” Her tone captures his attention and he is looking at her, really looking at her, for the first time since he woke her up. “I am yours. Forever and always. I am in love with you.”

He blinks and Anna can see that he suddenly understands. “I love you too,” he whispers. 

Anna waits for him to move. When he doesn’t, she asks him again. “Please, Kristoff.”

He nods slowly. “I will be gentle,” he says softly.

She can feel the pressure at her centre again and she closes her eyes.

He is very gentle and he is slow, making sure that he will not cause her unnecessary pain. She gasps as he makes his way into her. It stings, but it also feels more amazing that she ever dreamed possible.

He hesitates at her noise until she reaches down and firmly grips his ass and pulls him towards her. He relents, but it seems that he will not go faster than he feels he should. He takes his time, ever so slowly filling her until he can’t go any further. Anna lets out a shaky breath of pleasure at the sensation.

She has never felt complete before until this moment. She holds him in place so that she can savor it. She can’t understand how it feels for Kristoff until he pulls from her grip and slowly begins to move, shuddering a low and desperate moan like he can’t hold himself still any longer.

She greets every slow and gentle push forward by tilting her hips up. All of the sudden a shocking pleasure radiates through her body. There is no more discomfort, not more pinching or pulling, only the glorious feeling of his hard cock gliding through her sensitive centre.

“Oh Kristoff,” she moans in desperation. He greets her unspoken request by moving faster. It is exactly what she needs. This new and beautiful sensation gives way to a different sort of pleasure that she has never known before. She feels it come upon her, threatening her, then it takes her and she cries out as her body gives in.

She can’t control anything over the rolling pulse of her core. She can’t even think. All she can do is wait, and enjoy, and relish in the feeling, knowing that as soon as it is over, she want’s another. 

That is what he gives her. By the time she is quaking and crying out again, he is right there with her, burning himself as deep as he can as he spills himself within her. He is breathing hard, trying to regain his composure when he suddenly pulls back to look at her with wide eyes. “Anna. Are you… oh God I should have asked! I should have worn a rubber, I-“

“I’ve been on the pill since I was fifteen, Kristoff. It’s okay.”

“Fifteen?”

She can still see the panic in his eyes. “For cramps,” she clarifies. “To ease the camp pain.”

“Oh.”

He pauses a moment until he seems to realize that he is still within in her. He moves himself out slowly, settling himself on his back at her side. 

“Did it… hurt?” he asks quietly.

“A little at first, but it was okay.”

“Oh. That’s… good,” he mumbles and falls silent for a long time.

She wonders what is wrong as she looks at his disturbed face, staring at the ceiling. He seems… she doesn’t want to say regretful, but that’s how he’s coming across. “Was it not… I mean… was I okay? Or was I bad? I know I don’t have any experience-“

Suddenly he is leaning over her, looking down into her eyes with a different kind of panic. “Oh my God Anna, don’t ever say that! You were amazing. You are amazing! I just… I can’t really process how good that was. Does that make sense? I’ve never… I’ve never been with someone who I care about as much as I care about you. I guess I’ve never really made love to anyone before until you. Anna, it was… very special.”

“Not just because I was a virgin?”

“God no. I mean, I am honored that you wanted me to be your first. But even if I wasn’t, making love to you is by far the most wonderful experience I’ve ever had in my life.” 

Anna smiles, relived and relishing in the way her body feels. “Me too.”

They lay there for a time listening to each other’s deep satisfied breaths before Kristoff gets up and puts his boxers back on. He wanders into the kitchen where he had placed a couple bags on the counter. Anna plucks his shirt off the floor and slides it over her head before stepping into the bathroom quickly then seeing what he has brought with him.

“Chef Dan sent me home with dinner,” he says with a smile when she appears at his side. “I didn’t say anything to him, or anyone of course, but somehow he knew. When I went to leave, he gave me two meals.”

Anna laughs. She knows that word travels fast and Chef Dan is the only one of the chefs who goes to the back-room with the staff to unwind. Surely, he has seen her there and knows of her disappearance.

Kristoff pulls out two Styrofoam containers from the first bag and a couple of six-packs of beer from the second. He offers her one of each, then she follows his lead and sits beside him on his couch to eat. He flicks on the television and navigates the half-dozen or so channels before he settles on a Met’s game.

Her family is a staunch supporter of the Yankee’s, and as much as Anna ignores baseball, she always likes to hear about the Mets. Perhaps simply because it goes against her family.

She laughs when she opens the container to see angel hair pasta with rosé sauce and a grilled chicken breast. Her favorite. Chef Dan is clearly aware that she is with Kristoff. Anna digs into the meal with enthusiasm. Right now, in this moment, she feels content. She feels like she can actually breathe for the first time in her life. She is beyond thrilled with her newfound happiness.

The game is interrupted by a special news bulletin and Anna nearly chokes on her food as her father and mother appear on the screen, standing with some police officers. They begin pleading to know her whereabouts, pleading to whoever has taken her, to return her.

She feels Kristoff stiffen at her side and she knows how serious the situation is.

How could they not understand that she simply ran away? How could they think that she had been taken? After all the times she has tried to run off and ignore her life, how could they just assume that it was anything other than her own decision.

She is suddenly angry. Angry at herself for not telling them, angry at them for forcing her to flee, angry at the fact that she can see that blasted Westergaard boy standing off to the side with fake concern painted on his face. 

“Anna, you should let them know you are okay.”

She knows she has to but she doesn’t want to. She selfishly wants them to suffer, to have any semblance of what she had suffered in her life at their demands for her to be someone she isn’t. She nearly throws her container of food she is so mad, until a large palm rests gently on her knee and she looks over to see the understanding in Kristoff’s eyes.

“You need to tell them.”

“I know,” she whispers and gets up to find her phone. She turns it on and it tells her there are voice messages. She ignores them and dials the number of her father’s cell. There is no answer so she leaves a message.

“I was not taken father. I was not kidnapped and there is no harm to me. I ran away. I can’t live your life anymore. I am safe and I am happy. I want you to know that, but know also that I won’t be back. I am making my own future now and I can do it without your money or your scrutiny.”

She ends the call and her phone rings immediately. She silences it by turning her phone back off. It is enough for one day. She simply wants to finish her dinner and ask Kristoff to make love to her again and again until they are too tired to keep their eyes open.


	4. Chapter 4

Anna can see that Kristoff is tired when he leaves for work. She is just as tired and her centre is tender from their love-making. It is a glorious feeling and she cannot wipe the smile from her face.

He gives her a key that he got cut the day before and she leaves his apartment to wander down the street. Soon she stops at the first bodega with a help wanted sign in the window, and wanders in. 

Anna meets with the owner and he gives her a once up and down before his nod seems to say that ‘she’ll do’ and then asks her to fill out all the proper tax forms. She looks them over and is immediately confused, then also realizes that she does not even know Kristoff’s address to put on the top. She hands them back incomplete and tells the shop owner that she will get back to him when she has all the information.

He looks at her blankly and asks how she doesn’t even know her social security number. She does not want to admit that she has no idea what that is. Perhaps he can see the truth on her face because he tells her that maybe she should look for a job elsewhere. It is clear the owner thinks that she is far too naïve to understand the basic responsibilities of work.

Anna wanders back to Kristoff’s apartment with her head hanging down. Her mind turns to her wallet then and the small bit of money in it that she has been trying to ignore. Suddenly, she has to laugh at herself for thinking of it as a small bit of money when in reality it is in the neighborhood of a couple hundred dollars. Kristoff could probably live for months off of it. For her family it was simply considered a little walking around money.

She decided to keep ignoring it for the time being, knowing that sooner or later she was going to need to buy some things like more jeans and simple clothes. The expensive items she had brought in her bag no longer hold any allure to her. The truth was, they never suited her taste anyway.

Anna walks back into Kristoff’s apartment and thinks about how she is going to turn her life around. She knows that she needs to get a job. Although Kristoff has never breathed a word about it, she understands that he barely makes enough money to support himself. What is he going to do with another person to support, another mouth to feed? Anna does not have to wonder too long. He will do whatever it takes, even if it meant him finding another job and never having any time off with Anna.

No, she would not let that happen. She is bound and determine to find a job and there is nothing that will stand in her way.

*****

Anna hits send before she can think better of it. It only rings twice before she regrets trying to reach out and she flips the phone closed to hang up. She shakes her head, about to turn it back off when it rings in her hand and startles her.

Her finger presses the green button reluctantly and Anna puts the phone to her ear. 

“Anna? Are you okay? Where are you? Why did you run away? What is going on?”

“Elsa,” Anna says her name with authority, something she has never had before in talking with her sister. “I just need my social security number. I know we aren’t close anymore, but if you could just get it for me for old time sake, I would appreciate it.”

Her sister is silent at her emotionless request until Anna hears her start to weep. 

“What’s wrong?” Anna is shocked into asking.

“I miss you, Anna. I’m sorry about everything… about how mother and father are. I never liked to see them push so hard on you, but I was too afraid to say anything. I’m so sorry, Anna.”

Anna does not know what to say. She doesn’t know what to think. How her sister could never have said anything to her before she ran away hurts just a little. Still, she understands being defiant in her parent’s wake. She understands that more than Elsa ever will. 

“I’m okay, Elsa. For the first time in my life I am happy… and in love.” She adds the last part hesitantly, not knowing what her sister will think of it.

“Oh, Anna. I am glad you are happy and that you have found love. I am happy that you are free and I want you to know that you can always reach out to me. I will hold your trust in confidence.”

“You won’t tell Mom and Dad?”

“Not unless you want me to.”

“Oh Elsa, thank you.” Anna is surprised to head so much relief in her voice. “Thank you for understanding.”

There was a knock on a door in the background over the phone and then Elsa’s hushed tone. 

“Listen, I will get you the number. Have faith in me, Anna. I won’t let you down. And please, be safe. I love you.”

Elsa is gone before Anna can respond and tell her sister that she loves her too. She breaks down in tears, hoping that somehow it will all work out and she can be with her family again someday. Even for all they put her through, she still loves them.

*****

When Kristoff returns home, yawning and smiling, he pulls her into a passionate kiss that ends with them naked under the covers, bathed in the afterglow of their love-making. 

Anna truly has never known such happiness.

Kristoff goes to the kitchen after a time and unpacks two more Styrofoam containers. It appears as though Chef Dan has gotten word around that her and Kristoff could use any help they could get. 

She turns her phone back on and checks her messages, deleting any that start with the sound of her mother or fathers voice until she hears the one she has been waiting for from her sister. In the message Elsa talks in a hushed tone, rattling off the number twice before she says she loves her and hands up. Elsa has come through and Anna has her social security number. 

Anna then tells Kristoff about trying to get a job and he looks at her closely a moment before he sets his food down on the couch beside him and turns his body towards her.

“I talked to Gail this morning. I uh, don’t know if it would be something you would want to do, but there is a job available on the cleaning staff. You can do whatever you want of course, but I thought that it could be a start and-“

She strangles his words with a hug. “Oh Kristoff, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I would love to take that job.”

“It’s not easy work,” he manages through her crushing arms.

“Good!” She shouts, then presses her lips to his.

*****

When Anna shows up for her first day, she knows exactly how to fill out the forms. Kristoff told her what to do and she is able to complete them quickly and get a uniform. Then she is shown the ropes and comes to understand in an instant what working for a living actually entails.

At the end of the day her back is sore from changing bedding and she feels somewhat dirty from scrubbing toilets, but she is proud of herself in a way that she has never experienced before. Essentially, she feels like a million bucks. Even more so than the reality of what would have been her trust fund.

She waits for Kristoff, already thinking about asking him if he would like to shower with her when they get back to his place, when she sees him emerge from the kitchen with an expression that stops her heart.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Anna asks, trying not to panic. She has never seen him look so troubled.

He grabs her hand and pulls her into the service hallway, waiting until the people who pass them are around the corner before he speaks without meeting her eyes. “Your father came into the kitchen today in the middle of service and confronted me.”

Her hands fly up to her mouth as frustrated tears start to well in her eyes.

“He threatened to get me fired if I don’t convince you to go home.” 

Kristoff is still looking at the ground and Anna suddenly fears what his answer to her father had been.

“What did you say?” She can barely choke out the words.

His eyes finally come up and settle on hers. She can see his love, his defiance. His fear. 

“I told him that I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to do. I told him that you are your own person and if you were to go back to see him, it would be your decision and yours alone. I told him that I would never, ever, make you feel like you were being controlled, ever again.”

“You did?”

He nods, slowly and his eyes widen ever so slightly with seriousness. “I need this job Anna. I need a way to put food on our table and a roof over our heads, but I need your love even more. If I get fired, I will figure out a way to get us by.”

She is blindsided by the sudden anger that rolls through her. “I will not let him get you fired,” she says through gritted teeth, already planning on marching over to his office and demanding that he leave them alone.

She’s already turning, ready to charge over there and scream, when his large hand comes out and grips her lightly by the arm. She turns towards Kristoff and he seems to almost flinches at her anger, yet he remains calm and smiles at her. 

“Come home with me. We will figure this out tomorrow.”

Anna smiles, letting go of her rage. Kristoff is right. No good will come of confronting her father in such a way.

Home they go, then they shower together and soon find themselves damp and naked in his bed, coming together in love. Anna asks him to go slow and he does. She wants to savor their time together, knowing that they will both be asleep when they are done. She relishes in the way he is taking his time.

She knows that he is enjoying it too, kissing her with soft lips and whispering ‘_I love you, Anna’_ over and over into her ear until they are both approaching climax. He holds back, waiting for her, until her head lolls back while her body starts to pulse then he pulls his last restraint. She can feel him throbbing inside of her as her own climax slows and she kisses his lips and waits until he is finished.

Anna makes a move to pull herself off of him but he holds her to him for a second and looks into her eyes.

“Why me?” he whispers with a sheen in his eyes. He doesn’t have to elaborate to explain his feelings, she understands them.

Anna can feel his sadness, yet she cannot bring herself to cry about it. She is just too happy, too in love. In the end the why’s didn’t really matter. What happened between them was love at first sight, pure and simple. 

“Because you are you,” she says slowly as she holds his tender gaze. He stares back a moment and then his eyes register understanding. He nods and Anna knows he will never ask her that question again.

*****

A week goes by. Anna and Kristoff work their asses off. Every day he rides in to work with her and kills an hour before his shift. Every evening she gets off work and spends an hour waiting for Kristoff to get off his. They return home, they eat dinner, and they make love. 

Anna has never felt more fulfilled in life. 

One night, Anna reads to him. The next he reads to her. They watch a Yankee’s game while they get drunk on beer. They spend one of their respective days off cuddling in bed and telling each other everything about their lives. The next, Kristoff takes her to his family home on Staten Island and introduces her to his adoptive family. She falls in love with them instantly.

There are so many of them that she struggles with the names. Kristoff helps her, whispering in her ear when he knows she has forgotten. She feels more welcomed in the first thirty seconds of meeting Kristoff’s mother, than she did in a whole lifetime of being with her own.

Anna cries mercilessly that night in his arms, telling Kristoff just how much she loves his family and how she wishes her own was even a fraction as wonderful as his. Kristoff doesn’t breathe a word about how shitty her family life is. Instead he tells her that going forward their family will be close, loving, supportive and understanding. He doesn’t need to come right out and say that he is talking about future kids they may have, she understands that instantly. The thought gives her a great amount of comfort as Kristoff holds her until she falls asleep.

*****

Anna is just about to the kitchen in the service hallways when she hears her fathers voice. He is as angry as she has ever heard. Then she hears Kristoff’s voice and her heart drops. She tells herself to march around the corner and confront them, yet she is afraid. She has too many emotions swelling in her at the moment to think properly. Instead she creeps up to the corner and carefully peers around it. 

“Tell me where she is this instant,” her father is shouting.

“I won’t. You can get me fired, I don’t care.” Kristoff has his arms crossed against his chest. He truly does dwarf her father in comparison.

“You don’t know what you are getting into with that girl.”

“_That girl_? Well for your information, I am in love with _that girl_, and she’s in love with me. There is nothing you can say or do to make me betray that love.”

“I didn’t want to resort to this, but if I must.” Her father reaches into the breast pocked of his two-thousand-dollar suit. “Here is a cheque for five-thousand dollars. Just tell me where I can retrieve her.”

“I don’t want your money.”

“Make it ten thousand.”

“No. I won’t-“

“Twenty-five thousand, just to tell me where she is.”

Kristoff hesitates. Anna can see it is not out of contemplation. It is out of anger. Then he speaks through gritted teeth. “I don’t care what you think of me and I don’t care about your money. All I care about is her.”

“People are talking. Let her go so she can try and regain some respect.”

“I don’t care what people say. We’re in love and I would never, ever treat her the way that you did!”

Anna’s father sneers and stuffs the cheque back in his suit as he stands as tall as he can muster. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Soon or later she is going to get tired of you. She is going to get tired of having to eke out a living. You can’t take a girl like that and think she’ll be satisfied with what little you can provide for her.”

“You don’t know her,” Kristoff says quietly, almost sad. His anger seems to have left him.

“She is my daughter. I know her.”

“No,” Kristoff says, shaking his head slowly. “You don’t. You never cared to know her. You never cared to listen to her. You don’t even know what her favorite colour is.”

“Easy, it’s green. Always has been.”

“Until you told her she wasn’t allowed to spend her time in Central Park anymore. Now her favorite colour is purple like the violets that grow every year in the planter on her balcony.”

Anna smiles at the truth.

“Honestly, her favorite colour doesn’t matter. What matters is-“

“Why?”

“Huh?”

Anna can see Kristoff’s anger coming back. “Why doesn’t her favourite colour matter?” he asks more firmly.

“Because,” her father almost stammers. “It just doesn’t.”

“Well, it does to me. And that is why I will never tell you where she is unless she wants me to.”

“You are just a filthy line-cook!” Her father’s anger has returned as well. “You are nothing! You will never, ever deserve her.”

Anna has heard enough. Before Kristoff can respond she is rounding the corner releasing the tenuous hold she has on a rage that she has been supressing nearly her entire life.

“How dare you!” she screams.

Her father recoils, shocked by her presence. Or was it her voice? She has never talked to him like this before. He probably didn’t believe that she ever could.

He has no idea what she was capable of now. 

Suddenly his eyes take in her maid’s uniform and his expression shifts to disgust. “What is the meaning of this?” her father hisses at her while he gestures to her clothes.

“This is what I wear to work, _father_.” She cannot help but to spit out the last word. Kristoff puts his arm protectivity around her as she stands beside him. It gives her even more confidence.

“You detest me so much that you would tarnish my name by becoming the help?”

“I no longer care for your name,” Anna tells him the truth. “I don’t want to be associated with someone like you anymore.”

“Anna, this is ridiculous. Life is not this silly little fantasy that you seem to have come up with in your head. You will come home with me this instant!”

“I will not. Never again.” Anna looks to Kristoff but he is still staring at her father with contempt.

“Anna, you will come home with me now, or else.”

She looks back to her father. “Or else what? You will take away my trust fund? You will give away all my things? You will disown me? I have some news for you father… I don’t care. I don’t want anything from you, I don’t need anything from you, and if you wish I no longer be a part of your family, consider it done.”

Anna turns to stride away and Kristoff moves with her, arm falling from her shoulders as she stalks ahead. 

She half expects her father to chase them but he does not. Kristoff and Anna soon find themselves out in the alley by the kitchen, holding each other. Neither one of them speaks for a long time. It is Kristoff who breaks the silence.

“You know, we can change your name anytime, if you like.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” he says, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck. “We could go down to a courthouse… and get married. I know it’s not ideal… and I will absolutely plan a reception when I can afford it, but at least you’d have-“

Anna shouts “Yes!” then pushes her lips to his. She doesn’t care if they ever have a reception. The thought of being Kristoff’s wife is all she could ever want. It tickles her. It delights her. It…

She pulls from his lips and looks at him with unease rolling in the pit of her stomach. “What about your Mom? Your family? They will be disappointed, won’t they? It’s selfish to do this without thinking about what it will mean to them… isn’t it?”

Kristoff shakes his head and offers her a tender smile. “They will understand. They have always taught us to follow our hearts. My Mom will not be mad or disappointed. She will be happy that she can officially call you her daughter-in-law. And I mean it Anna. When I can afford it, I will get you a ring you deserve and we will have a real ceremony and celebrate our marriage with all our family and friends.”

His face suddenly falls as he realizes his choice of words, or more specifically, the slightest reference to Anna’s family. Anna is not saddened by them, however. She knows that Elsa will come. Perhaps even her mother. She does not care if her father is there. The realization that she is now free to live her own life, lifts her up again. She might as well be walking on air. 

“When then? When can we do this?”

“Tomorrow, when we are off work.”

“Yes,” Anna nods. “As soon as we possibly can.”


	5. Chapter 5

The tip of Anna’s pen is a second away from signing the papers in front of her when Kristoff says her name. She looks up at him, surprised that his face seems suddenly so sad.

“Anna, I want to make sure, before it’s too late… this is what you want, right?”

“Yes, Kristoff. Of course this is what I want.”

“I know this is probably the last thing you had in mind when you thought about your wedding day-“

Anna ignored him and signed the papers, then looked back to his questioning face. “I am more certain of this than anything in my entire life. I love you, Kristoff.”

“I love you too,” he smiles and leans over to kiss her. They take the papers to be notarized, Anna fills out the forms for her change of name, then they find themselves standing on the street outside as an official husband and wife. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bjorgman.

Kristoff looks down at her with a promise in his eyes. He will do whatever it takes to provide. He will be the man that Anna needs him to be. He will do anything for her.

Anna gives him her promises back. She will do anything for him in return and she will never stop to help him provide, for someday, they will both be providers for their children. She promises him that no matter what the future holds, as long as they are together, nothing will stand in their way. 

A short subway ride later and they are tucked between the sheets of their bed, consummating their marriage. It is the most passionate and beautiful display of lovemaking yet, leaving them both euphoric in their minds, bodies and souls. 

Afterward, Kristoff slips into a pair of sweatpants and makes them dinner. He’s decided to elevate the frozen tilapia and sparse produce in his fridge by creating a creamy both, adding potatoes and chopped bacon, and topping it off with fresh chopped parsley. Anna doesn’t know what to call it, but it is delicious. He is a master at making something out of almost nothing. She salivates at the thought of tasting the food that he could create when he had unlimited access to the finest and freshest ingredients.

Anna insists on doing the dishes despite how much Kristoff protests. “You cooked, I do the dishes,” she explains. He relents even though he still looks uneasy. He watches her instead of the television as she moves about the kitchen. When she is done and drying her hands he takes to his feet and pulls her into a deep kiss.

They sleep naked that night after another round of lovemaking, cherishing the end of their first evening as husband and wife.

\----------------------------------------------

A year passes and not much has changed. Kristoff and Anna still retreat to their tiny apartment in the Bronx, Anna still does not talk to her parents and they spend ever Sunday evening at Kristoff’s family home for dinner. Life is as perfect as Anna ever dreamed it could be. 

Until she gets the call. 

Her father has had a heart attack and it does not look good. 

Despite Kristoff’s stern objections, Anna goes to see him alone. 

Guilt and regret press on her like someone is sitting directly on her chest as she walks into the hospital room to see him on life support. Tears immediately fills his eyes to see that he is alone. Her mother and Elsa are nowhere in sight. No one on the staff probably cares. None of his rich friends take the time to bother.

Anna sits in a chair beside the bed and takes his hand into hers. It has never looked so small and frail. She realizes just how old he has suddenly become. He is no longer the strapping man she had always thought of him as. Grey hair grows at his temples, the creases around his hollow eyes are deep, his lips are impossibly thin and cracked… he looks like a shell of the man that she used to know.

Anna breaks down in heart wrenching sobs, blaming herself for her fathers’ condition. If only he could have understood! If only he could have allowed her to be her own person! Why did he have to drive her away?

“Don’t you dare,” says an impossibly icy voice from the hallway.

Anna turns to see her sister with a cup of vending machine coffee in her hand. The only close family she has left. They have talked many times over the last year, keeping each other updated on their lives, always saying they love each other and they miss each other.

Anna is shocked to see Elsa so angry at her now.

“Don’t to this,” Elsa says, striding into the room. “Do not blame yourself for this.”

Anna blinks at her sister, wiping the tears from her eyes. “What… what do you mean?”

Elsa sits in the other chair on the other side of the bed her father is laying in. “You think this is your fault but it isn’t. Don’t sit here crying like you’ve caused this.”

Anna pulls in a deep breath. Her sister has never talked to her in this way before. “Elsa, please, I-“

“Just stop, Anna. Okay?” she lets out a forced breath. “I can’t stand to see you cry like that in a time like this. It was the way you always cried when father was disappointed in you… the way you blame yourself for something that isn’t your fault. You need to stop apologizing for you who are Anna, especially to him!”

Elsa’s voice is dripping with venom and Anna suddenly wonders exactly what her sister has been keeping from her about the past year. She watches in silence as all emotion leaves Elsa, until she is slumped over in her chair staring at their father with unblinking eyes.

Anna waits a long time before Elsa speaks. When she does, Anna is forced to hold back more tears.

“Father and I started having disagreements about the company. His vision doesn’t include the change of the times and he was unopen to discuss positive change. It was like he was trying desperately to hold onto everything as it was. Like he was deathly afraid of anything else changing.” She is silent for a moment, not meeting Anna in the eyes. “It got a lot worse after you ran away.”

Anna holds her tongue as a tear escapes Elsa’s eye. She waits until her sister continues.

“He wasn’t the same after you left. None of us were. Mother started taking more pills, Dad was as strict as ever… and I… I started pushing back.” Elsa sighs. “I don’t know how it happened. One day I just… had enough. I told him how I thought it was wrong how he treated you, how stubborn he was being about your choices, how everything would have been different if he had just been a decent human being. And I… I’m sorry Anna… I let it slip that you were married. I’m so sorry. I know I promised you, but I was just so mad…”

Elsa dissolves into sobs and Anna is at her side in a second, pulling her to her feet and in a fierce embrace. She cries with her sister, unable to imagine what Elsa has had to go through when Anna left. Despite what Elsa told her, she still feels guilty. She always will. 

Her sister composes her emotions and they pull the chairs side by side to finish talking.

“It took me a long time to build up the confidence,” Elsa continues as she runs a perfectly manicured finger along the rim of her paper coffee cup. “I kept my mouth shut for a while, waiting to see if things would even out. When they didn’t and father continued to push the company in a direction that I thought was a mistake, I spoke out to the board of directors one day. I explained to them my vision and they all sided with me. You should have seen him Anna,” Elsa’s eyes flick to their unconscious father. “He was livid.”

“I’ve seen him livid,” Anna responds quietly. It was almost like her sister forgot who she was talking to.

Elsa’s eyes display a sudden realization at her words. “I’m sorry, Anna.”

Anna shakes her head. “Don’t… just, tell me what happened.”

Elsa inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “The board of directors vetoed his decision. They cast him out. Suddenly, I was in charge. Two days later and… this…” Elsa gestured weakly to the bed with her hand. “So you see, Anna. You are not the one who should bear any guilt. This is all my fault.”

Her sister’s eyes fill with tears and Anna is suddenly furious. This is not Elsa’s fault. It’s not Anna’s either. The only person to blame for what happened, is the man laying in the hospital bed in front of them.

“All those years,” Anna chokes out. “All that time and he never let either of us be who we were. He tried so hard to groom us to be people we weren’t, no wonder things happened the way they did! You can’t keep pushing someone down again and again. One day they are going to fight back. Why the hell didn’t he understand that?”

After everything that happened Anna can still see in Elsa’s eyes the sister she knew as a child. Instantly defensive of her father, oblivious as to what was going on, terrified of conflict.

Anna knows what Elsa is going to say before she even says it.

“He is still a good father.”

To Anna, he is not, but she holds her tongue.

“He provided for us,” Elsa continues. “He taught us valuable life skills-“

“What valuable life skills?” Anna shouts, throwing her arms up into the air. “How to speak French, how to play chess, how to use all the cutlery at a properly set table… or know all the state’s senators by name, or where to get the best exchange for foreign currency… Elsa! Those things don’t mean shit in the real world!”

Elsa recoils at Anna’s curse. She doesn’t care, her sister needs to hear this. “Why didn’t he teach us about the city we live in, like how to use the subway or, I don’t know, even taking us to any of the five Burroughs besides Manhattan for God’s sake? Why didn’t he teach us how to fill out tax forms for a job? Why didn’t he teach us about work for that matter? Why did he make us believe that anyone who scrubs toilets for a living is any less worthy that us? Scum. _The help_, in his eyes. That’s what I do, Elsa. I literally scrub shit off of porcelain, and you know what? I feel great about it because I am doing an honest job, earning my own honest money, instead of what Daddy would have given me. That man gave me nothing in life! He treated me like I was an embarrassment. No one should ever have to feel that way! You should have seen the look of pure hatred and disgust when he learned I was a maid. _His daughter, _reduced to that which he despises the most! I would be glad if he died before making anyone feel worthless, ever again!”

Anna doesn’t realize she is screaming until a nurse comes in and berates her for making such a ruckus. She snaps out of it and looks to Elsa. Her eyes are wide and full of tears, looking at Anna with abject horror. Elsa gets up runs from the room with her wails her anguish following her.

Anna is left standing in the room with their ailing father as the cries of her sister dissipate down the hallway, wondering what she has just done.

*****

The entire year after Anna ran away from home, she never heard a word from her father. Her mother, after a time, sends messages though Elsa when the sisters felt it safe to let her know they spoke to each other. They are heartfelt messages with no heart in them. Both Anna and Elsa know this even though they never say a word about it. Their mother’s mind is too clouded by alcohol and the various pills she takes to have any real sentiment. 

What none of them know, is how much Anna and Kristoff have scrimped and saved, how much they have scarified, simply to try and afford an apartment closer to Elsa in the hopes that Anna could eventually repair the relationship with her family. They have no idea how hard her and Kristoff have both worked, taking extra shifts, forgoing outings, putting their own wedding celebration on hold…

Anna suddenly fears it was all for naught.

She feels sick to her stomach over everything as she heads out the hospital doors for some much-needed air. She stands in the cold night breeze for a moment, breathing it in to cleanse her nerves when she hears his voice.

“Hey there pretty lady.”

Anna turns to see him leaning against the building not far away, smoking a cigarette. When she approaches, he offers her one and she takes it with gratitude. She knew he would be there. Something in her soul told her that he would never let her go through this completely alone.

Kristoff lights another one from the butt of the cigarette the just smoked and they spilt if before they go up to the hospital room together. Elsa is sitting where Anna had been and she looks over at their entrance without surprise. She offers them a small smile and takes to her feet, putting her hand out to Kristoff.

“You must be Kristoff,” she says. “I am pleased to finally meet you.”

Kristoff takes her hand without hesitation. “And I am equally pleased to meet you, Elsa. I appreciate that you have kept close with Anna through all this.”

Her lips curve into a knowing smile and just like that then tension between the sisters falls away. Anna steps in and hugs Elsa fiercely as they both apologize to each other. Anna does not need to explain her outburst to her sister. She is confident that Elsa understands needing to vent the feelings that she has kept to herself nearly her entire life. When they finally take the chairs while Kristoff leans against the wall in the corner, all is right between them again.

Then the heavy discussion begins. What to do about their mother, currently passed out in her bed. What to do about their father’s recovery. How to change the staff operation during these uncertain times and other things that required immediate attention.

None of them discuss what to do should their father not make it, even though the thought is in the eyes of all three people in the room. 

Time ticks away as they plan. When it’s midnight, Anna and Kristoff can’t hold in their yawns any longer. Elsa tells them to come with her to the penthouse. They both look at each other, visibly uncomfortable with the idea as Elsa begins to insist.

“You both need to work and this way you will be much closer. Don’t worry. I will be here all day and I will let you know if there is any change.”

They agree, if reluctantly.

All three sit in silence during the short ride in the town car. Kristoff slouches in his seat so that his head does not hit the roof, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the word. Anna herself struggles with how foreign it feels even though she had ridden in cars like this nearly her entire life. She realizes that she hasn’t even sat in a car since she was dropped off at the Waldorf over a year ago. Her and Kristoff use the subway and walk wherever they need to go.

When they get to the penthouse Anna leads Kristoff straight to her room. She doesn’t want him to see the entirety of the space she grew up in yet. To her it feels like knowing would mar something about how he viewed her.

Anna locks the door when they are tucked safely away and points out the balcony where they can have another smoke and the bathroom attached to her room. He takes it all in without a word and an unreadable expression on his face. Anna is suddenly nervous to have him here. This one room is double the size of their apartment in the Bronx.

His eyes settle back on hers after sweeping the room. Anna doesn’t know what his thoughts are until he speaks.

“I can’t imagine how lonely you must have been,” he says with a voice so quiet Anna has to strain to hear him. “I hate the thought of you rambling around in here all alone.”

Anna’s heart breaks at how much he truly understands. How she could have ever thought after all this time that he would be anything other than the man she knew and fell in love with, she would never understand. It was simply being back in this place that she regarded with bad memories that was twisting her mind into doubt, much like her father had twisted her mind when she lived here.

Anna finds and old nightie and Kristoff strips to his underwear before they crawl under the sheets. Kristoff asks if she is okay and she tells her that for the moment, she can manage. All she wants to do is be held and she does not have to ask him. He snuggles his chest against her back and wraps his arm around her, holding her tight. They are both exhausted and fall asleep almost immediately after they tell each other how much they love one another.


	6. Chapter 6

For an entire week, things seem at a standstill. Kristoff and Anna go to work, find a hurried dinner after, then stay at the hospital until they go back to Anna’s room at the penthouse to sleep. They have not made love all week. They have a trouble sleeping all week. Anna hopes that something changes soon or she might go insane.

One thing that is different however, is that her, Elsa and Kristoff, had approached Anna’s mother at the beginning of the week and told her that she needed to get help. It was an intervention, something which Anna honestly never thought she would ever be a part of.

Their mother is panicky and full of explanation and excuse. It is Kristoff who points out that she hasn’t been to see her husband in the hospital, while he, the man who Mr. Arendelle probably blamed for a lot of what happened, was there nonetheless.

That comments seems to reach down through the layers of fog and she starts to sob and agree. She confesses she doesn’t know how she let things get so out of hand, how she is tired of being fucked up all the time and how she wants to get better.

They all ride with her in the town car to a very discreet and very expensive rehabilitation centre. At the check-in there is a lot of apology on their mother’s part, but also panic in her eyes. They leave quickly, hoping to make it easier on her even though they all hear her quick and desperate pleas to change their minds as they walk out the front door.

It is a silent and tense ride back to the penthouse.

The remainder of the week is just as exhausting and Anna feels that it has got to be the worst seven days of her entire life so far.

“I miss our apartment,” Anna tells Kristoff that night when they are holding each other in her childhood bed that is bigger than theirs back home.

“I do too, but this is more important,” Kristoff replies, kissing her temple.

“How is it? My father was nothing but condescending and downright vicious to you. How can you care so much?”

Kristoff is silent a moment before he responds. “Because,” he begins slowly. “He is your father. He and your mother made you. I have to give them my eternal thanks for giving life to such a beautiful person. For that, I can forgive what has happened.”

Anna begins to cry, chiding herself for being temporarily blind yet again to the compassion she knows Kristoff has. He quiets her emotions by holding her gently. Anna lets it all slip away from her mind in favor of his strong arms around her. She kisses him, needing to feel something other than what she has felt for the past week.

Kristoff kisses her back with hunger, moaning into her mouth. Things get desperate quickly and they are soon joined as one in the beautiful act of love. With things being so incredibly tense for them the last seven days, this moment of bliss is much deserved and much appreciated. 

They work together, moan together, climax together, then come down in each other’s arms. No matter what, Anna knows they will always operate as one. A solid connection. An unbreakable bond. And, if need be, a force to be reckoned with.

*****

Anna looks at her father’s face. There is a little colour in his cheeks today. 

The doctors tell her that his heart is mending. The extensive emergency operation required when he had his heart attack was beginning to heal despite all odds. There is a grim reminder however, that his mind, starved of oxygen while they worked to revive him in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, might have suffered catastrophic damage. Until he is healed enough to bring him out of the medical induced coma, they will not know the extent.

He could wake up with no brain function whatsoever.

Anna puts her hand on her fathers and sends him good thoughts for recovery when she hears someone speak from the doorway.

“Well, well, the wandering Miss Arendelle.”

Shivers run up Anna’s spine at the sounds of his voice. She looks over at him, unable to hide the disgust from her face.

“I heard you were finally back where you belong,” he says with a sly smile as he saunters to the foot of the bed. He exaggerates a mock frown. “Too bad it was a little too late.”

Before Anna can even think to lash out, Kristoff is standing behind the Westergaard, dwarfing him, with his arms crossed against his expansive chest. 

“Are you lost?” he asks tersely. 

The slime ball turns around and Anna can almost see him gulp. “W-who are you?” he stammers.

Kristoff smiles, glad that he has the prick flustered. “I am Anna’s husband.”

“Her… her _what?”_

“Husband. That means Anna is my wife. We are married. Are you familiar with the concept?”

Anna believes that Hans will flee from the room and her and Kristoff can laugh about it. Instead she watches as he sets his shoulders and tries to make himself taller. He is still a good couple of inches below Kristoff, making his attempt look rather pathetic.

“Really? Her husband you say? I was wondering where she’d gone off to all this time. It didn’t even cross my mind that she would wind up so desperate. Tell me, how much did she ask? Or rather, how much did you offer her to whore herself out to you?”

Anna shoots out of her chair to confront him. Before she can even take a step, Kristoff has Hans’s collar gripped in his massive palm.

“Care to take this outside?” Kristoff says through gritted teeth.

“Gladly,” Hans shouts as he pushes on Kristoff’s forearms to release his clothing. He takes a moment to smooth himself out before he stomps towards out of the room.

Kristoff follows without a backward glance leaving Anna to scramble after them. She tries her best to keep up as the men head straight for the stairwell and down. She hops in an open elevator going down hoping to beat them to the entrance.

Despite only stopping once to let the only other person off while Anna furiously pressed the ‘close doors’ button, she still does not beat them to the lobby. They trudge ahead of her through the doors and have their fists up before she can fully exit the elevator.

When she gets outside, she notices Hans’s stance right away. Kristoff is in trouble. Hans is a trained fighter. Anna recognizes it from her own training when her father insisted her and Elsa learn the basics of jiu jitsu. Kristoff has his hands up like a boxer. There is no way he is going to win this.

Panic grips Anna’s heart as Hans makes the first offensive move, a quick right jab to Kristoff’s jaw. Anna can see it connect in her mind when all of the sudden Kristoff jerks his head out of the way and retaliates immediately.

Hans staggers at the blow to his shoulder, clearly taken off guard by the large man he thinks he is going to take down. In arrogance, he pivots back and strikes again, only to hit nothing but air.

Anna can see it now in the way Kristoff moves. He is not trained to fight, but he knows _how_ to fight. She wonders how she could have been so blind. He grew up in the Bronx. He has probably been in more real fights that Hans could ever imagine.

Kristoff dodges another blow and takes advantage of the failed strike to punch Hans in the ribs. The smaller man staggers on his feet as he backs away from the circle of conflict, trying to distance himself from another blow. There is terror in his eyes now. How easily his confidence has left him.

Kristoff sees it. “Why don’t you just fuck off and leave us alone,” he growls.

Hans’s eyes seem to dart all around as he contemplates. Anna can’t believe she stills sees a level of defiance in them even though everyone else who is gathered around to watch the spectacle knows that he’s already beaten.

Hans makes his decision, lowering his arms slowly to show he is no longer a threat, then rotating his shoulders and grabbing his lapels to fix his clothing. “You fools deserve each other,” he sneers, and turns on his heels to march away.

Kristoff has Anna in his arms before she can even comprehend what will happen next. He is apologizing against her skin with his face buried in her neck, telling her he will never ever do anything like this ever again.

All Anna can think about is how she is completely in the dark regarding certain things in his past.

*****

That night in her childhood room while they lay on their backs side by side on the bed, Kristoff tells her everything when she asks the question that has been troubling her since the altercation at the hospital.

“The neighbourhood I grew up in has a lot of stuff happening there between various mobs. Nowadays, most of the time it goes unnoticed, but when I was growing up it was a lot different.

“I kept my head down but a lot of kids got dragged into gangs. I lost a lot of good friends to a life of crime. They either ended up in jail, or dead. I was lucky. I got a job at thirteen to help out my folks. It kept me out of trouble since I all I had time for was school and work.

“I was approached one day coming home late from stocking shelves at the Bodega down the street. Naturally, I said no. I was raised to know better. That was the first time I got my ass kicked. 

“As soon as I limped back into our apartment, my Dad took me aside. I thought he was going to be furious with me, but he seemed almost scared. He insisted on teaching me how to defend myself. He started that very night with some basic evasion moves and quick jabs. He used to box back in Norway, as you know.”

Anna nods. He has told her all about his family.

“Anyway,” Kristoff continues, “It took me a few fights to connect those lessons to how people actually fought on the street. Got my ass kicked a dozen more times before I won my first fight. 

“Then when I was fifteen, I hit a growth spurt. My mother swears I grew a foot overnight. Guys stopped trying to pick fights with me. They started picking fights with other kids though, my younger siblings included. I couldn’t stand for it. I wouldn’t. So, I did the only thing I knew how to do. I fought them, and I won. Eventually, no one bothered us anymore, but it took a long time for them to get the message that we didn’t want anything to do with them.”

Kristoff’s voice tapers off and he waits silently, staring at the ceiling. It seems as though he has nothing to add at the moment.

“Why have you never told me this before?” Anna asks gently. She knows Kristoff does not keep secrets from her and this is most likely the only thing about his life that he hadn’t disclosed. Still, she needs to hear the reason.

Kristoff shrugs. “I’m not proud of it. I don’t like getting into fights. It was the only way to protect myself and the other kids but…”

Anna can see he is struggling with it. She puts her hand on his chest and he immediately slips his big palm over it. 

“I’ve broken guys bones before. I’ve put guys in the hospital before. It still makes he sick to think about it. I did what I had to do, but I didn’t enjoy it.”

“Well, who would,” Anna wonders out loud in disgust.

“_They_ did. A lot of them. They grinned and laughed when they left me in the street, bruised and bleeding. They were all animals picking on hapless kids,” Kristoff shakes his head. “I’m glad that nothing ever happened to my family due to my actions. I was constantly scared that I would bring some sort of retaliation to my home with my refusal to take part in gang activities.”

Anna has no idea what that must feel like. She tells Kristoff so, and he just shrugs his shoulders against the bed again. On the outside it seems like he is saying that it is simply water under the bride, but Anna can see the troubled look deep in his eyes. The horrible memories of having to fight to survive. Anna cannot fathom how terrible it must have been.

“At least things are different now,” Kristoff continues. “I have a friend or two from the old neighbourhood I run into from time to time, and they say that the gangs stopped harassing innocent people. Apparently, they are too busy picking fights with each other instead.”

Anna doesn’t know what to say. She has no words to offer him for something that she will never understand. He doesn’t seem to mind her silence. They remain next to each in their own contemplation for a long time when Kristoff speaks again with a quiet and deliberate voice.

“If he ever comes near you or threatens you again though, I will not hesitate to put him in the hospital.”

Anna smiles, relieved that her and Kristoff can laugh off the encounter with Hans now. “He won’t. He’s too much of a coward to try and pick a fight with you ever again.”

“Let’s hope so,” Kristoff says, but he does not smile. His face is completely serious.


	7. Chapter 7

Kristoff and Anna sleep in on their day off. It is late morning when there is a knock at the door that wakes them. Anna finds a housecoat and shrugs into it as she walks to the door. Elsa is standing there, looking hopeful.

“The doctor says they will take him out of the coma today,” she says. “Sometime this afternoon. Will you be there?”

Anna has to wonder why her sister thinks she wouldn’t. “Yes, of course we will be there.”

Now her sister looks uneasy. “Do you think it’s wise to have…” she gestures at the door in the general direction of where she must assume Kristoff is laying in bed.

Anna blinks at her sister. “He is my husband,” she says firmly. 

“I know, I know! it’s just that… well, Daddy was still very sore over what happened, especially when I accidentally told him you were married. I don’t think it would be wise to have something that might anger him when he wakes up.”

Anna sighs. Her sister is right. The way things were left between Kristoff and her father was exceptionally strained. “Alright, but I know Kristoff will still want to be at the hospital even if he can’t be in the room.”

Elsa smiles. “I imagined that he would.” She lowers her voice to a whisper, knowing that Kristoff is somewhere in the room. “I see how much he loves you, Anna. It’s everything you deserve. I am still so happy for you. For both of you.”

Anna hugs her sister tight before closing the door. She strips off her robe as she walks back to the bed and crawls in beside Kristoff. His eyes are on hers the whole time.

“Everything okay?” he asks as she snuggles herself against his side.

“My father is being taken out of the coma today. I’m sure you heard?”

“Every word,” he whispers and kisses her temple. “And you are both right.”

“How so?”

“Well, I agree with Elsa that I shouldn’t be there when he wakes. I don’t want to cause any distress to your Dad. And you are right that I will certainly be at the hospital. I would never let you go through this alone, Anna. I will be just down the hall if you need me, okay?”

Anna smiles and shifts to kiss him. He responds with hungry lips and they are soon coming together for a quick round of morning passion.

Once dressed, they head to the kitchen to make themselves breakfast. Anna takes a stool at the massive kitchen island and grabs the morning paper to look through. Kristoff goes over to the fridge and lets out a low whistle when he opens it, just like he has been doing all week. He thinks its funny. Anna looks up to see him grinning at her.

“I know, okay?” she laughs and shakes her head. They enjoy joking about the ‘over-the-top’ way the fridge is constantly stocked in her father’s penthouse.

Anna watches as he pulls out some eggs and some ham then starts to rummage through all the items in the fridge for something else. She was absolutely right about her previous assumption that given unlimited access to some of the finest ingredients, Kristoff was an absolute master at creating beautiful and insanely delicious dishes, even if all she’s had the pleasure of eating from him so far has been breakfasts.

Anna ignores the newspaper to watch him work. It is one of her favourite things to observe him cook. She is also happy that the kitchen staff have been given time off with the uncertainty of her father. It is nice not to have them hovering around pretending to mind their own business like they did when she was a child.

After eating the most perfect and delicious omelette in her life, Anna and Kristoff make their way to the hospital. Elsa is already there and they talk about a plan should everything go alright. When it is time, Kristoff tells Anna he won’t be far away and the doctor takes measures to wake their father.

It takes longer than Anna expects. She wants to steal down the hall to see how Kristoff is making out but she does not want to miss the moment that her father comes back into consciousness. She feels like she needs to be there when he does.

Finally, his eyelids start to flutter and he takes deep, hitching breaths. Suddenly his eyes are open, looking around the room in confusion for several moments. Anna’s entire body is ridged and tense, wondering if he can piece it all together or if he his mind has been damaged beyond repair.

Anna can see him analyzing ever so slowly. Then his gaze falls to someone he knows.

“Elsa?”

“Yes, father. It is me,” she holds back her sobs and reaches for his hand, clasping it between her own. 

“Where… where am I?”

His eyes are locked on Elsa’s and Anna is not surprised. Elsa always was his favourite. Anna was never anything other than a disappointment.

“The hospital, father,” Elsa responds. “You had a massive heart attack.” She gulps and shifts her eyes to Anna on the other side of the bed. “We are here for you, Daddy.”

It takes him a moment to process then his eyes slowly move to where Elsa is looking. Anna freezes when her father meets her eyes, hoping that she will not upset him or cause him further stress. The last thing in the world she would want is for him to get agitated after what he has been through.

Anna holds her breath until her father’s face changes with recognition.

“Anna? Is that you?”

“Yes, father,” Anna chokes out, trying to hold back her tears. “I am here.”

Her Dad’s eyes suddenly well up. “Oh Anna, I am so sorry.”

Anna can’t hold her sobs any longer. She cries mercilessly as she blindly reaches for his other hand. She can hear Elsa sobbing too as their father joins them.

It seems to go on forever, the three of them crying over the past. Though none of them utter a single word about the reason for all the emotion, they do not need to. They are more than well aware of the hurt that has been done. It is Elsa who regains her control first and seems to steer Anna and their father to quiet themselves as well.

“Where is your mother?” he asks Elsa when everyone is quietly sniffing.

“Mother is in rehabilitation,” Elsa states without hesitation. “Her pill use was out of control. Anna, Kr-” She clears her throat at the almost slip of his name and recovers quickly. “Anna and I took care of mother and got her the help she needed.”

Their father does not notice the near mistake. He is staring straight ahead into nothing. Anna and Elsa both wait for a long time.

“I really messed up, didn’t I?” he seems to ask himself.

“No father, you didn’t-“

“Elsa, please,” he says slowly. “You have always been so quick to defend me and I do not deserve it. I have made too many mistakes, taken which I hold most dear for granted. I… I am my own worst enemy.” He sighs and his turns his head on the pillow with his eyes closed. “I drove my own daughters away,” he continues with a quiet voice. “I ignored my wife’s problems. I worked instead of spending time with the three of you…” He heaved a shaky sigh. “I am to blame for everything.”

Neither Elsa or Anna say anything. Their father is not wrong.

The doctors, who have been hovering at the door, finally come in and check him over. They give each Elsa and Anna a nod to let them know that things are very promising, then leave to give them back their privacy. The both take a seat back at their father’s side and reach for his hands.

They all sit in a silence that stretches on forever until their father starts to nod off. When he does fall asleep the sisters quietly leave the room. Elsa heads to the Ladies room, likely to cry some more, while Anna rushes down the hall to the waiting room, wondering if Kristoff is still there or if he has slipped outside for a smoke.

He does not disappoint. He never will.

Kristoff is pacing slowly around the room as Anna enters. As soon as he looks over to see her, he changes his course and rushes to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Anna feels like she wants to cry again at his loyalty and devotion. To prevent more tears, she focuses on his familiar smell and warmth, calming her instantly. 

*****

Elsa finds Kristoff and Anna holding each other in the waiting room. She informs them that the doctors suggest putting their father back on sedation until the next day so as not to overtax him. She then tells Kristoff and Anna that they should go back to the penthouse and relax. Anna tells Elsa that she should too even though she can see in her sister’s eyes that she isn’t going anywhere. Her and Kristoff relent when it is clear that Elsa needs this time. Perhaps for reflection.

They spend the rest of the afternoon snuggling with each other and watching television. It feels like a vacation to just be able to do nothing for a few hours. They both need the break to recharge themselves, even if it is only a little.

Elsa returns to the penthouse at the dinner hour, informing them that there is no new information about their father’s condition. Only that he is still very weak and his body has a lot of healing to do. She then offers to take them out for a meal again, as she has been doing all week. Anna offers to treat Elsa instead by having Kristoff cook for them. Her and him had decided earlier that they wanted to stay in tonight since they were getting tired of eating out all week.

Elsa agrees and thanks Kristoff for making them dinner. The sisters each take a seat at the kitchen island while Kristoff wanders over to the fridge. He cracks his knuckles before opening it, ready to work his magic.

“I hope that he will be able to come home soon,” Anna says more to herself than anyone else.

Elsa looks up from her cup of coffee. “Me too, but I got the impression from the doctor that his recovery will take some time.”

Anna nods. “I know, I imagined that it would as well.”

A silence falls between them. Anna wants to fill it but she struggles to find the words to start. It is Elsa who brings it up first.

“I am so relieved that his mind is okay, and I am so very glad that father was apologetic to you Anna. It was all I’ve wanted to hear from him for so long.”

“Me too,” Anna sighs, relieved that Elsa brought it up.

Kristoff says nothing from his cutting board. Anna had filled him in on what happened and he was just as happy and relieved as Anna at what her father had said.

“I honestly don’t know what I would have done if he wasn’t all there anymore,” Elsa says quietly. “Just like I don’t know what I would have done if he… found issue with you again…”

Elsa cannot seem to bring her eyes up to meet Anna’s now. That’s okay. Anna knows exactly how her sister feels. Elsa’s hand is resting on the countertop and Anna places hers overtop of it. Finally, her sister is able to meet her eyes and gives her a smile of gratitude.

Suddenly, Kristoff tips the pan on the stove and it makes a literal _woosh_ sound as it catches on fire. Anna stifles a laugh at the sudden terror on Elsa’s face. She knows her sister has never actually watched anyone cook a meal before.

“Anyway,” Elsa continues with a small smirk as she side-eyes Kristoff at the stove like she’s worried that he is going to burn the whole building down. “I thought tomorrow, Anna, you and I should talk to him some more.”

Elsa doesn’t have to say that Kristoff should not be there. It’s unspoken and they all know it is for the best until her father has a chance to regain more strength. “Okay,” Anna agrees. “What time do you want to head down there?”

Elsa gives her a gentle smile. “Let’s make it late morning. You two work so hard you deserve to sleep in another day.”

Kristoff turns his head from where he is working to smile at Anna. Then he shifts his gaze to Elsa and gives her a respectful nod. 

It hurts Anna’s heart that they couldn’t have this for the past year, that she has had to talk to her sister in secret and bear the guilt of being alienated from her parents. She wonders if it was the money that had twisted them so, or maybe it was just who they really are. Kristoff’s family is like nothing she has ever known. They are all so close and talk to each other all the time. There is so much love and care that it made Anna finally realize that her upbringing was anything but normal. Money be dammed. Even if they were poor, there is no way her and her sister should have been treated the way they were.

Elsa pulls her from her mind by moving her hands in front of her nose to mimic smelling a sauce if she was standing over the pot. “Kristoff, that smells delicious.”

“I hope you like it,” he says as he walks to a cutting board with some herbs on it. He grabs a handful and tosses them into the pot. “It’s Coq au Vin.”

“It’ll be delicious,” Anna responds with confidence. She knows the talent that Kristoff has for cooking. 

It’s not long before three plates are set on the table and three glasses filled with a complimenting white wine. The chicken cooked in the brandy and red wine sauce smells heavenly and is plated expertly with creamy mashed potatoes and a lightly dressed Cesar salad. 

Anna digs in. As soon as the first bite hits her taste buds she moans loudly and her eyes roll back in her head. Elsa looks over at her, mortified by the display of pleasure with her fork paused half way to her mouth.

“Anna, please,” Elsa pleads.

“Sorry,” Anna says with a shrug and a smile then shoves another forkful in her mouth.

Elsa takes a dainty bite and chews slowly. After a moment she nods her appreciation. “This is delicious, Kristoff. A restaurant meal right at home, what a treat. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” Kristoff shrugs with a smile. Then he looks to Anna and his smile softens. 

She loves that smile. With that smile he promises her he will do anything for her, and she knows it to be the truth.


	8. Chapter 8

“And Anna, you are married now?”

Anna nods. They had been talking about menial things for an hour and the sudden shift in the conversation instantly worries her. When she glances at Elsa, she can see it worries her as well.

“I am.”

“That big blond fellow, right?”

“Yes. Kristoff.” Anna responds.

Her father gives a small nod and his eyes seem to lose focus. He stares at nothing for a long while before he suddenly blinks and looks at his daughters.

“I am feeling quite tired. I think… I think I would like to sleep now.”

Anna and Elsa both agree he needs his rest and kiss him on the forehead before leaving the room. When Anna is at the door her father calls softly to her.

Anna turns around his eyes are already closed. 

“I would like to meet him tomorrow.”

Anna tries to respond but her voice seems to be temporarily frozen in her throat. 

Anna’s father lifts his eyelids slightly to look at her. “Please, Anna?”

“Okay,” she manages.

Her father nods and closes his eyes again. Anna takes off down the hall to tell Kristoff, worried about what he will think.

*****

Kristoff looks down into Anna’s eyes one more time for assurance. He doesn’t have to tell her that he is anxious for what is about to come. She is as well.

Despite all the mending they have done in their own relationship over the past two days, Anna is still unsure about her father’s attitude towards her husband. Based on what little he said on the matter the day before, Anna finds it impossible to determine her fathers’ feelings on the matter.

With one more squeeze to Anna’s hand, Kristoff takes a deep breath and strides forward into the room. Anna lingers at the door, watching from just beyond the edge as her father turns his gaze to Kristoff when he enters. 

Then his eyes flick over in her direction. “This does not need to be private, Anna. You deserve to hear what I have to say as well.”

Anna nods an acknowledgement to her father and slips to Kristoff’s side, putting her hand in his once again.

It takes a few moments for her father to seem to gather his thoughts as he stares at his toes. Then he sets his jaw and looks up at Kristoff.

“I owe you an apology, young man.”

Kristoff says nothing. He does nothing. He seems as frozen as Anna does.

Anna’s father continues in a rather sombre tone. “I have done quite a bit of reflection while I sit here in this bed, wondering what I might say to you. I thought to explain my mind-set at the time, or explain the way I was raised, then give you the apology you deserve for treating you with so much disrespect. The truth though, is that there is no excuse for my actions. Nothing I can say or do to atone for the way I conducted myself. I could give you apologies all day, but I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness for what happened a year ago. All I can do is promise you that I am no longer that man. That man…” Anna watches as her father looks away with an unfocused gaze. He takes a shaky breath. “I do believe that man died when I had that heart attack.”

Anna and Kristoff wait, still as statues.

“Going forward things will be different.” He is still staring at nothing, talking more to himself now than them. “I have a lot of changes to make. It will be hard and I fear that I might let frustration and old ways of thinking rear their ugly heads before I am truly singing a new tune, but I am determined to set things right. Make a life that I can finally be truly proud of.”

He suddenly looks back up and his eyes bore into Anna’s. “I want to build a loving home for my family, Anna. I want you to come to dinners and tell me about your job and what’s new in your life. I want you to be able to come to me if you have a problem, and I want you to be able to talk to me… about _anything._” There are tears coursing down his cheeks now, just as there are on Anna’s. “If you plan to have children, Anna, I want to know my grandkids. I want to be involved in their lives. I don’t want to miss out on that. I… I can’t.” 

Anna’s father pulls in a deep breath and looks now into Kristoff’s eyes. “With your permission, I would like a second chance.”

Anna is shaking with emotion. She looks slowly up at Kristoff and she can see he is fighting back his own feelings. It takes him a couple of swallows to find his voice.

“Mr. Arendelle, I would love for you to be a part of our lives. I can honestly say that nothing would make me happier. This is all that Anna-“ He stops suddenly then looks down at her. “This is all that _we_ have ever wanted.”

Anna sobs and pulls Kristoff into a hug. He hugs her back tightly, taking deep breaths. They remain embraced for only a moment then let go and turn back to Anna’s father.

He is watching them quietly with tears still in his eyes. “You are a good man, Kristoff,” he says after a moment. “A far, far better man than myself. Anna deserves a good man like you, just as you deserve a wonderful woman like Anna.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Kristoff smiles and suddenly the tension leaves the room.

Kristoff’s smiles do have a tendency to do that.

It’s not long before Anna, Elsa and Kristoff are all sitting in chairs along side the hospital bed while the four of them talk about a future full of change. Anna’s father states to the room that he is going to retire officially and that he is more than confident about Elsa’s ability to take the company in the direction it needs to go. He declares that he desires to be with his wife in her rehabilitation and wants to be her support for every step of the way. He tells Anna that he wants to keep some of the staff on hand to handle the cleaning and occasional cooking, but how going forward they will all receive a very large increase in their wage and benefit packages as well as a healthy dose of respect and gratitude for the work that they do.

Kristoff catches Anna’s eyes many times as they talk late into the evening. She can see how happy he is for her, for her family… for their family. This truly is all they have ever wanted, to have Anna’s family a part of their lives.

No matter what has happened in the past, everyone in the room knows it is now behind them, and everyone is looking forward to the many happy years to come.

*****

Anna’s father walks into the kitchen with the help of his cane. Even with the aid for walking he has a pep in his step that she has never seen. He is looking better every day. Anna believes that finally being at home is helping him bounce back even faster. 

“Just the person I was looking for,” he smiles at Anna. “I was wondering if I could have a word with you in private?”

Anna looks over to Kristoff. His back is to her as he works with something on a cutting board. She wonders if he is being respectful or if he’s so caught up in what he’s doing that he doesn’t tune into the conversation behind him. 

“Sure.”

Anna slides off the stool and follows her hobbling father down the massive main hall to his den. Once inside he closes the door and takes a seat on the couch by the fireplace, gesturing to Anna to take a seat with him. She does, wondering exactly what it is that he wants to discuss that requires privacy from her husband.

Her father gets straight to the point. “I want to talk to you about your trust fund.”

“What about it?” she asks, genuinely surprised that this is the topic of conversation.

“It’s yours, Anna. I want you to start using it.”

Anna blinks and looks towards the fireplace suddenly wrought with conflicting emotions. Despite the repair of her relationship with her father and the way she now thinks differently about a lot of things, she does not feel differently about that. She has written it off in her mind so completely that not once since her father has changed his attitude, did she think about it. The trust fund, in truth, has not entered her mind since the day she worked her first shift as a maid for The Walldorf.

Still, all that money being brought up now, money that would absolutely help her and Kristoff live better, holds an allure that Anna has never felt before. Not even when she was growing up knowing that she would one day be handed a million dollars. Back then she had no idea what she would even do with the money anyway. Now all she can think of is how they can get a place in Manhattan, have a huge wedding celebration, take a vacation, make a safe home for their future kids…

Anna shakes her head. “No, father. I wanted to make my own way in this world. I promised myself that I would. I intend to keep that promise.”

Her father regards her closely for a moment with a small smile on his face. “I thought as much,” he says quietly. “And I respect the hell out of your decision.”

Anna nods and opens her mouth to thank him when he talks over her.

“However, I hope that you would respect me enough to let me pay for a proper wedding reception for you, since… well, you know. It’s a tradition after all that a father pay for his daughters wedding. Even though you are already wed, I would love to throw a celebration for it, albeit a very late one. Plus, I would very much like to meet Kristoff’s family.”

Anna’s mind swirls with conflicting thoughts. For how hard her and Kristoff have worked for the last year to throw just such a party, they are nowhere near close enough to afford it. And since her father is doing his best to mend the damage within his family, perhaps it isn’t such a bad idea to accept some help.

“I don’t know,” Anna mumbles, knowing her father is waiting anxiously for some sort of answer.

“Please, Anna. I would love to do so much more, financially. But if you wish I butt out, I will. I only ask that you accept my one request to give you the wedding that you deserved in the first place.”

His pleading eyes are enough. Anna nods, but she will not give into his request without her own terms. “As long as I can plan it the way Kristoff and I want it. We may not pick a lavish venue or expensive food. We might want something simple. We might even want to have a backyard celebration at Kristoff’s family’s house on Staten Island. If you agree to that, then I agree to your request.”

Anna’s father smiles brilliantly. “Of course, Anna. Anything you desire. It is your party and I would be happy to see you celebrate your marriage to Kristoff anywhere and any way your heart wishes.”

Anna embraces him then they talk a little on how her mother is making fantastic progress in rehab. It’s not long before Kristoff shouts down the hall that dinner is ready and they both get up to see what wonderful food is in store for them.

At the door, Anna’s father pauses and catches her arm lightly. “Just one more thing, Anna, then I won’t bring this up ever again. I would very much like to have you closer to us. And to Kristoff’s family as well. I want to get you a place here in Manhattan. Anywhere you chose, no matter the size. I want to buy it so no one has to worry, and then I will remain completely out of your financial life forever. Unless you ever needed help of course.”

Anna opens her mouth, but she honestly doesn’t know what to say.

“Just please talk to Kristoff about it and let me know what you two decide. Take all the time you need. I won’t lie, Anna. I offer this mostly for my own selfish reasons. I just… I realize how much better my life is when you and your family are in it, I want you to be closer. I want us all to be closer.”

Anna nods and her fathers smiles then takes off down the hall towards whatever fabulous meal Kristoff has made. She lingers at the doorway another moment before following him, wondering what her husband is going to think of all this.

*****

“Why didn’t you take the million?” Kristoff asks with wide, unbelieving eyes, his mouth hanging open in complete shock.

Anna smacks his chest. “This isn’t a joking matter!”

Kristoff’s face melts into a mischievous smile. “It isn’t? Well that’s no fun.”

Anna can’t help but chuckle. “Seriously though, I assume you’re okay with him paying for the wedding celebration?”

“Of course,” he says, becoming a little more serious, knowing that this is something that is troubling Anna’s mind.

“He also said he wants to get us a place here in Manhattan. Is it bad that I am somewhat tempted?”

Kristoff’s eyes scan hers as he thinks. “It’s not bad at all,” he says slowly. “Hell, I’m tempted too. But we’ve made our own way in life this past year, as well as managed to save some money. I am proud of us for doing that all by ourselves.”

Anna nods in agreement.

“We can survive, Anna. You and I both know that,” he continues. “However, is it bad that I am suddenly thinking about how much nicer it would be to be closer to work and our families?”

“No,” Anna shakes her head. “It can’t be because that’s what I am thinking too.”

Kristoff nods this time and they simply stare at each other, eyes unfocused, deep in thought. 

“It’s not like we would need some massive apartment,” Anna says quietly.

“Just something simple for the two of us,” Kristoff agrees.

“Yes. With a little more room perhaps.”

“And being closer to work-”

“Would allow us to spend more time together.”

“Exactly.”

Anna nods, still looking at nothing. “Then when the time comes that we have a family, we will be able to save enough to afford a bigger place all on our own.”

“Definitely.”

“If my Dad could help us buy a little place here it would just be a little stepping stone,” Anna looked at Kristoff now as his eyes came into focus on hers.

“Then after the wedding party and a Manhattan apartment, we will be able to handle everything else on our own and never need help again.”

“Absolutely.”

They look at each other for a moment when both of their smiles start to fade. Anna knows what is running through Kristoff’s mind. It’s the conflicting feelings. It’s the pride of being able to accomplish things without anyone’s help versus the desire to enrich their lives by means of accepting a little help from someone who has enough money to burn if he so desired. 

Easy decision for most people, to be sure, but not for them. 

“Sleep on it?” Kristoff asks.

“I think we should,” Anna agrees.


	9. Chapter 9

Anna gasps as she walks into the apartment. It’s filled with sunlight, illuminating every pristine inch of the place. The current owners have renovated and it looks immaculate.

“Look at all these windows,” Anna marvels as Kristoff falls in step behind her.

“It’s wonderful,” he agrees.

Anna walks through the small entrance and into the living room, doing a full turn as her eyes dart all over the place. She then walks over to the kitchen on the left, excited to see granite countertops and brand-new stainless-steel appliances.

“These bedrooms are actually pretty big,” Kristoff calls from down the hall. 

The place isn’t massive by any stretch of the term, but it is certainly a castle compared to their tiny bachelor apartment in the Bronx. It is a two-bedroom, two-bath, eight-hundred square foot apartment. It is neither the cheapest, nor the most expensive place they have looked at so far. It actually falls somewhere in the middle, but when the realtor came to them that very morning with this new place that was just listed, she ushered them over to it quickly so they could snatch it up if they desired.

Their realtor is also very aware of who Anna’s father is. 

Anna walks down the hall off the kitchen to find Kristoff standing in the middle of the master bedroom. He turns when he hears her enter the room and gives her a slow smile.

Anna nods. “It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

Kristoff opens his mouth when the realtor hurries herself into the room with them and begins talking.

“It is perfect for you two. It’s completely renovated, all new appliances, has an in-suite washer and dryer at the end of the hall, a parking space, low monthly condo fee’s, common rooftop area…”

Anna tunes out the spastic woman. She doesn’t really care about any of that stuff. All she cares about is finding a place that feels like a home to her and Kristoff, and as soon as she stepped into this place, she immediately feels it.

Anna looks into Kristoff’s eyes and silently asks him if he is thinking what she is thinking. He gives her a small nod as the realtor drones on and on. They can both feel a connection with the space, as if it was simply waiting for them to stumble upon it. Plus, the extra bedroom would be great for welcoming their first child into the world. 

They have talked about children on many occasions and they both feel like the time is getting closer. Their backyard wedding celebration at Kristoff’s family home in Stanton Island is under a month away now and they are excited to start trying when that is behind them. 

Anna and Kristoff stare at each other for only a moment longer before they both open their mouths to interrupt the realtor and speak in unison.

“We’ll take it.”

*****

“There you are,” Kristoff says quietly as he strides into the room.

Anna is sitting in the guest bedroom of Kristoff’s parents house, taking a moment to massage her feet. Before she can say a word, Kristoff is sitting beside her and pulling her feet into his lap. He begins to kneed her tired muscles and Anna cannot help but let out a satisfied groan.

“Careful, someone might think we’re up to no good in here,” Kristoff says with a smirk.

Anna laughs. The house is absolutely crawling with people, it is only a matter of time before someone stumbles upon them. Better to be caught in an un-comprising position. There were children present after all. 

“I am beat,” Anna says with a sigh. “I feel like I worked three straight shifts.”

Now Kristoff laughs. “I know what you mean. This day has been insane.”

“But so wonderful,” Anna adds.

“Indeed,” Kristoff replies quietly, then falls into a silent contemplation.

Anna doesn’t have to ask him what is on his mind. She knows. They move into their new apartment in three days. Between prepping for their wedding celebration, their move and working full time, it has been an exhausting few weeks. But neither of them would trade it for anything in the world. 

Anna thanks Kristoff for the massage with a gentle kiss before they head back down to their wedding party. Anna smiles at Elsa as she is talking to a couple of Kristoff’s siblings and cousins, then finds her parents talking to Kristoff’s Mom and Dad. The sight of all four of them smiling and laughing hits her right in the heart and she has to fight back some emotional tears a moment before she approaches them.

Anna’s father has some wine in his hand and her mother is sipping on some sparking water with a twist of lime. She has been back from rehab for a solid week now and the change in her was so staggering, that Anna took a couple of days to get used to the difference – the most noticeable to Anna, being the brightness and the clarity in her mother’s eyes. Anna has never seen that in her mother before.

Their mother took her and Elsa out for a private dinner for a lot of talking on the night she came home. Mostly it was apologizing, but both Anna and Elsa reminded their mother that it is in the past and what mattered most now was the future. There were a lot of tears, happy and sad, but in the end, all three of them left with a much stronger and healthier relationship. 

Anna’s mother put herself to use right away. Now instead of being messed up on pills or alcohol and sleeping the day away, she threw herself into charity work and volunteering. Given her second chance, she was determined not to waste it and use it to make a difference in the world. And with her entire family supporting her every step of the way, she certainly would.

It inspired Anna to help out too, and her and Kristoff spent their first night of many to come feeding people at the homeless shelter. Even Elsa created the Arendelle Inc. Charity Foundation to help women and children in need. The foundation was only a few days old but had already donated a large sum of money and brand-new furniture and goods to three women’s shelters.

Anna is witnessing all she ever wanted in life come true in front of her eyes. If someone had told her a few short years ago that this was going to happen, she would have laughed in their face and called them a lunatic, that people like her family simply can’t change. How wrong she was and how glad for being so wrong.

Kristoff takes her by the hand and pulls her onto his lap as he sits in the only free patio chair and both of their parents beam smiles at them. Going forward they will all be a very close and tightknit family and as their wedding party begins to wind down, Anna cannot wait to start trying to make it a little bigger.

*****

Kristoff lets their new mattress flop down onto the bedroom floor with a thud. The new bed frame and box spring are leaning against the wall, waiting to be assembled, but Anna and Kristoff don’t have the patience for it at the moment.

They kiss desperately and passionately. Only moments ago, they finished hauling the last of their things into the apartment and looked at each other realizing they were now officially moved into their new place. Their relief and happiness to be done with the move, gave way to instant arousal.

“I can’t believe we’re finally here,” Anna breathes between Kristoff’s hungry kisses.

“I know,” Kristoff responds quickly. “This is a dream come true, Anna. All of it.”

“Definitely,” Anna sighs, then moans softly as Kristoff starts kissing her neck. She loses herself in his affections, taken to a euphoric place of relief and release. When she can’t stand it anymore, she whispers to her husband how much she needs him.

“I’ll just go grab a-“

“No,” Anna whispers. “Let’s start trying to build our family.”

Kristoff pulls back and looks at her with a tentative smile on his face. “Really? Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

Now his smile breaks into a wide grin. “Me either.”

“Then make love to me, Kristoff.”

His eyes fill with passion and he does just that.

*****

“So, you two are settled into your new place?”

Anna nods at her sister. “Yup. We just unpacked the last box last night.”

“That only took a month,” Elsa chuckles.

Anna chuckles with her. “I know, I know. But we were just having so much fun spending time together, unpacking the knickknack boxes just wasn’t a priority. Plus, a lot of it was just stuff both our mothers kept from when we were babies.”

“Oh, keepsake boxes? Those are so fun to look through.”

“They are,” Anna says slowly, suddenly consumed with emotion. She looks down into her coffee and stirs it absentmindedly. “I will have a lot of fun making those for our children too.”

Elsa is silent on the other side of the table. When Anna finally brings up her eyes, her sister it looking at her with a slight smile and inquisitive eyes.

“Anna. Are you…?”

Elsa lets the question linger, waiting to see if Anna is ready to talk about it. She is very much ready to talk about it. They will tell everyone else in eight more weeks, but Kristoff agrees that since Elsa is so good at keeping secrets, Anna will tell her right away because she truly is simply dying to let someone know about the happy news.

Anna nods, smile taking over her face. “I just found out last week. Elsa, you are going to be an Anutie.”

Elsa’s eyes fill with tears the same way Anna’s do and the sisters embrace and cry over Anna being pregnant. Afterwards there is a lot of talk about babies, how excited both families are going to be when they find out, and Elsa’s insistence that she be the one to throw Anna a baby shower. 

Anna can’t seem to be able to wipe the smile from her face. It wasn’t so long ago that she thought she would have to tell Elsa in secret over a cell phone when she got pregnant and then suffer the pain of going through such happy times without a single member of her family. And now… now she has such a big and wonderful family full of love and support that she simply can’t wait to bring their first child into the world.


	10. Epilogue

** _Manhattan – September 2006_ **

Anna holds up her glass, beaming with so much pride that has to fight back tears. She swallows thickly then clears her throat to get the attention of everyone in the room.

“I would like to make a toast,” she starts, feeling for the words in her heart. She pauses ever so quickly to look at Kristoff’s face, then into the smiling faces of their four beautiful children, before she continues. She is renewed by the strength that all five of them give her and she speaks with confidence.

“A toast, to a man who has a deep love and an incredible talent for food and who has endless passion and boundless determination. A man who has made me the happiest woman in the world and a proud mother to our four incredible children. A man who showers us all with so much unconditional love, that we are eternally grateful. A beautiful, creative and kind soul, wrapped up in the best person I have ever met. A toast, to you Kristoff, for making your dream a reality. Congratulations on earning your third Michelin star. Salute!”

The restaurant erupts with a resounding ‘salute’ followed by cheers and shouts. Everyone is there. Their family, all their friends, a bunch of co-workers they kept close with from their time working at the Waldorf. The house is packed with people happy to celebrate Kristoff and Anna’s success.

It certainly wasn’t easy. Between raising their four kids and working their asses off, they managed to start their own restaurant. And they did it without financial help from Anna’s father. He was true to his word and never brought the issue up again after helping them with their first apartment, but he did still remind Anna from time to time to come to him if they needed help with anything. Anna always thanked her father, but her and Kristoff had made their minds up a long time ago that they were going to do these chapters of their lives all on their own. They were so determined in fact, that Anna asked her father to take her out of his will and give whatever he had planned to give her to charities instead. He had agreed with a gentle smile and tears of pride in his eyes.

While her parents and Elsa still lived in the penthouse, they now shared it with three of Kristoff’s younger siblings and two of his cousins. They were offered to stay in some of the many guest bedrooms the penthouse boasted while they attended college, rent-free. The only request, was that they take an hour or two every week to help Anna’s mother with some volunteering and charity work. 

Every time Anna went to the penthouse now it was filled with such wonderful positivity that it no longer looked at all like the place she grew up in, even though the décor hadn’t changed a bit. There were shoes cluttering the front entrance, a few bicycles parked along the walls in the wide main hallway, textbooks littering the kitchen island and hoodies littered everywhere. The house guests were encouraged to have their friends over often and it became somewhat of a hub for studying and lounging between classes.

Anna’s father absolutely loved having the house full of people. He would often order dozens of pizzas for the college students, and anytime Anna and Kristoff would visit, he would smile and talk about how great it was to have such brilliant young minds around. He never mentioned anything to Anna, but she found out through Kristoff’s youngest sister that her father had made three very large donations to the separate collages she and her siblings and cousins were attending. Despite the fact that her father was no longer the man she knew as a child, and hadn’t been for some time, it still amazed her in the best possible way.

After Anna became pregnant with their second child sixteen months after welcoming their first daughter into the world, Anna and Kristoff sold their apartment and moved into a bigger three-bedroom place. When their third child came, they moved again as soon as their second daughter was ready to move into her own room, only this time they found themselves a modest five-bedroom brownstone in case they were to have another child. It was a good thing since it wasn’t long after the move that Anna decided she wanted to try again. Nine months later they welcomed their second son into the world and both Anna and Kristoff felt that being blessed with two daughter and two sons, that their family was finally complete. 

The papers for their new restaurant were signed on their eldest’s tenth birthday. The family of six celebrated both that evening by cooking for their _entire _family at Anna’s parent’s penthouse. Even then their oldest daughter was as fascinated by food as her father. Anna and Kristoff both knew that she would someday run the restaurant herself.

Now nearly five years later and Kristoff had earned his third Micheline star. It was impossibly hard sometimes, and there were weeks where Kristoff was just a passing ship in their lives, but he always made time for his family whenever he possibly could. Now, he enjoyed creating the fantastic menus and paying a team of very talented chefs to carry them out while he spent his evenings and weekends with his family.

Truly, all their dreams have come true.

Kristoff stands after the applause dies down and everyone in the restaurant waits in anticipation for what he will say. Anna knows it will be a simple sentiment as he is a man of few words.

He clears his throat and speaks. “Thank you. Thank you all for your support and encouragement in this amazing and difficult endeavor. However, none of this, and I do mean none of this, would have been possible without one very special person.”

Kristoff looks over at Anna, his eyes shimmering. “Anna, the day I met you was the day my life truly started. You have brought me so much happiness, so much love…” Kristoff pauses to breathe and Anna can’t hold back her tears as well as Kristoff is at the moment. 

“You have given me everything I have ever wanted in life,” he continues. “A beautiful family, a loving home, and a reason to be the best man I can possibly be. Without you, even if I had the most successful restaurant in the world, I would truly have nothing. To my incredible and gorgeous wife.” Kristoff raises his glass in the air. “To Anna.”

“To Anna!” Everyone shouts as they stand and cheer with the loudest round of applause of the night.

Anna obliges Kristoff and clinks his offered glass before they both take a sip. After they set their glasses down Anna, buries her face into Kristoff’s chest as he wraps his arms around her then lets her tears come freely. They are the happiest tears she has ever cried in her life.

Fifteen years ago, she cried into an empty room feeling like the loneliest person in the world. Fifteen years ago, she wondered what was going to become of her. Fifteen years ago, she feared her own future. That all changed the moment she caught a pair of gorgeous brown eyes watching her from across the room. That was the night her world was tossed upside down and things changed forever.

Kristoff liked to think that Anna saved him, and he told her that often. But she knew that wasn’t the truth.

The truth was that he was the one who had saved her.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the song "That Girl" by Justin Timberlake


End file.
